There are many words one could use to describe a Borat movie, but "heartwarming" generally isn't one of them. These films are manic, insane romps as Sasha Baron Cohen usually spends the entire film messing with people. However, the recent Borat sequel actually contained one character that was truly a good person, and even co-star Maria Bakalova was touched by her, and since the film's release she reached out because the woman now means so much to her.
If you've seen Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan on Amazon Prime Video, then you will undoubtedly be familiar with Jeanise Jones. The 62-year-old woman becomes the "babysitter" for Bakalova's character, Tutar, but rather than just being another target for Borat's jokes, Jeanise tries to legitimately teach Tutar to be a stronger woman. The "reality" of the whole situation hit a lot of people hard, and made the Borat sequel far more emotional than most were likely ready for.
That seems to include Maria Bakalova, who recently told the Los Angeles Times that she spoke with Janise Jones this past Thanksgiving, and it seems her "babysitter" made an impact on her the actress doesn't expect to ever forget. According to Bakalova...
Jeanise is a true angel. I will probably always think of her as my godmother, a real hero and life coach. She just wanted to help this girl become a strong woman. We had a real human connection from the very first day we met. I called her on Thanksgiving: It was my first American Thanksgiving and was also my best. I was so happy to talk to her that I started to cry. When we were shooting, it was very hard for me, because I wanted to tell her not to worry about me. She is a really good example of how important it is to be a good person and care about others.
Borat 2 isn't exactly a movie full of "good" people. It's largely about spotlighting awfulness. And as Maria Bakalova points out, that goes for the stars as well. Jones thought she was truly dealing with a girl who was in real trouble and was trying to help her. However, for the movie to work, she could not know the truth, that she was dealing with an actress. Bakalova admits she was so touched by the woman's attempts to help that she wanted to tell her the truth, just so that she would not worry. It is nice to see that the two have been able to connect without the facade of the movie getting between them. She's certainly not the only one, the internet raised six figures on her behalf via a GoFundMe page set up by fans who felt she needed a little extra support after being fooled by the movie.
