The Dictator (2012)
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A self-absorbed dictator travels to the United States to address the United Nations, only to find himself in a series of absurd complications.
The story
The Republic of Wadiya, located in the Horn of Africa, has been ruled by the dictator Omar Aladeen for two decades. Upon his death, he is succeeded by his immature son, Admiral-General Haffaz Aladeen. Aladeen is a ruler who surrounds himself with female bodyguards, sponsors terrorism, and develops nuclear weapons. After the United Nations Security Council resolves to intervene militarily, Aladeen travels to the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City to address the council. Shortly after arriving, Aladeen is kidnapped by a bodyguard, leading to a series of events where he must navigate the city while his identity is at risk.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The Republic of Wadiya, located in the Horn of Africa, has been ruled by the dictator Omar Aladeen for two decades. Upon his death, he is succeeded by his immature son, Admiral-General Haffaz Aladeen. Aladeen is a ruler who sponsors terrorism and develops nuclear weapons. After the United Nations Security Council resolves to intervene militarily, Aladeen travels to New York City to address the council. He is kidnapped by a bodyguard, Clayton, but escapes after Clayton dies. While wandering New York in civilian clothes, Aladeen assumes the identity of 'Allison Burgers' and meets Zoey, a human rights activist. He eventually discovers that many of his 'executed' subjects were actually sent to the U.S. and meets his former nuclear weapons expert, Nadal. Aladeen eventually falls in love with Zoey while she works at a local shop. At a signing ceremony, Aladeen publicly declares his love for her and promises to reform Wadiya. A year later, he is elected 'President-Prime Minister' of a now-democratic Wadiya. He marries Zoey, but is shocked to discover she is Jewish. The film ends with Aladeen's new convoy of eco-friendly cars and Zoey announcing she is pregnant.
- First release year
- 2012
- Runtime (minutes)
- 83
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Larry Charles
- Writers
- Sacha Baron Cohen · writer; Alec Berg · writer; David Mandel · writer; Jeff Schaffer · writer
- Cast and characters
- Sacha Baron Cohen · Admiral General Aladeen; Anna Faris · Zoey; Ben Kingsley · Tamir Mafraad; Jason Mantzoukas · Nuclear" Nadal; Sayed Badreya · Omar Aladeen; Busty Heart · Etra
- Genres
- political satire; black comedy
- Themes
- dictatorship; political satire; cultural clash
- Tone and mood
- satirical; absurd; provocative
- Setting
- The fictional Republic of Wadiya (Horn of Africa) and New York City.
- Premise and plot tags
- fish-out-of-water; political satire; black comedy
- Content notes
- sexual content
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics but was a box office success, grossing $190 million.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 56% · review count: 219; Rotten Tomatoes · score: 5.90/10 · scale: 10; Metacritic · score: 58 · scale: 100 · review count: 41; CinemaScore · score: C · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The character of Aladeen was inspired by several real-life dictators including Kim Jong Il and Muammar Gaddafi.; The 'Wadiyan' language spoken in the film is actually Hebrew.; The film was banned in several countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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