Second Coming of Charlie Chaplin

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Sasha Baron Cohen was a big star before "Borat."
Now he's a mega-star.
It's easy to see why. The guy's funny and bold. In an era when satire's been reduced to TV sketch comedy — and rarely at that — Cohen's in-your-face approach offers a wake up call as to what real satire can be.
Yet what Cohen has done, first with his "Da Ali G Show" and now with a feature film, is reveal himself as the true heir to Chaplin.
Sure, Borat's 90-minutes may be a stretch, even for Cohen fans. And its focus on toilet humor likely puts off a large segment of refined cinemaphiles. But at a deeper level, Cohen's pulled off what I believe is the boldest, most audacious satire since Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" hit the screens.
Is it fair to compare the two?
I struggled with that at first. Chaplin's always been a hero for me. Here was a guy who, as a Jew in post WWI Britain, created one of the most endearing, memorable characters in film history: the tramp. In the tramp, Chaplin gifted the world with a vehicle through which mankind's foibles could be revealed. Through the tramp, Chaplin showed us the alienating effects of Modern Times. Chaplin was that special being, the high-level, old-soul trickster (note to reader: see Robin Williams, Stan Laurel and Jim Carrey.)
Is Cohen such a special being?
I'm not sure. But where Chaplin's Tramp was a sublime creation, a subtly self-effacing open book, Cohen's Ali G and, especially, Borat, are in-your-face. Such is the reality of modern times, that satire requires noise to be effective.
Chaplin's brilliance was his ability to create art that could be interpreted on multiple levels. Children could appreciate his movies without getting the satire. Of course, slapstick allows for that.
It takes great intelligence to create great art. It takes brilliance to create great satire. Cohen, who immerses himself in his characters to such a degree it may be dangerous to his heath, is not yet a filmaker and his work isn't as sublime as Chaplin's was. He does, however, share one trait: the brilliance of great satirists.