Film

Not To Be Dramatic, But I Would Die For Jeanise Jones, The Iconic Babysitter From ‘Borat 2’

Wawaweewa, the women truly were the real heroes of 'Borat 2'.

by Michelle Rennex  27 October 2020
Borat Subsequent Movie Film Jeanise Jones

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Unless you’ve been in hibernation over the last week or two, you’d know that Borat Subsequent Movie Film, aka Borat 2, dropped on Amazon Prime over the weekend.

And while we all pondered whether a film as controversial and so typically 2000s as Borat could somehow exist in the politically correct climate of 2020, it was a welcome surprise that it somehow managed to — and did it especially well.

With an actual plot, sharp humour and a critique of the current events of 2020, like the looming US presidential election and the pandemic plaguing the world, Borat 2 proved to be the exact type of film we need right now.

*Some VERY NICE spoilers for Borat Subsequent Movie Film ahead*

Unlike the original Borat, Subsequent Movie Film follows a plot that actually makes some sort of sense beyond the desire to kidnap Pamela Anderson.

Related
The First 'Borat' Poked Fun At Americans. 'Borat 2' Detests Them

Fourteen years after Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) embarrassed the nation of Kazakhstan and was sentenced to life imprisonment in the gulag, the journalist was sent on one final mission. In an attempt to redeem the country, Borat is sent on a journey back to America to offer Johnny the Monkey, the Kazakh Minister of Culture, to Donald Trump as a peace offering of sorts.

After travelling around the world on cargo ship — accompanied by Johnny the Monkey via shipping crate — Borat discovers that his 15-year-old daughter, Tutar (Maria Bakalova), smuggled herself into the crate and ate the Minister of Culture. To avoid death, Borat then suggest to the Premier that he shall give his daughter as a gift to Vice President Mike Pence to amend relations between the countries.

What ensues from here is a hilarious journey through a country rife with coronavirus, COVID deniers, Borat recognisers, and some very passionate Republicans.

And while there are many standout moments in the mockumentary itself — like Rudy Giuliani getting caught with his hands down his pants in front of Tutar, a gag about swallowing a plastic baby and needing to have it removed at a pro-life clinic, and a very bloody father-daughter ‘moon blood’ dance — the real heroes of the film were clear from the start: the women.

The Women! We Love The Women!

From Tutar’s journey of self-discovery while learning of women’s rights, to the immeasurable kindness of Judith and Doris in the synagogue as Borat spits his anti-semitic rhetoric, each woman featured in Borat 2 stole the show whenever they were on screen.

Even smaller moments, like the daughter who stood up to her gross father when he made inappropriate comments during the debutante ball and the woman who attended an anti-lockdown right-wing rally just to hold a sign that read ‘You are not being oppressed’, really carried the film.

However, the heart, soul and moral compass of Borat Subsequent Movie Film wasn’t any of these women, nor was it even Borat himself. Instead, it was Jeanise Jones, the babysitter who was the driving force behind Tutar’s moment of clarity, which changes the course of the film.

In order for Borat to raise the necessary funds to pay for Tutar’s breast implants, he drops his daughter off to Jeanise Jones home to be cared for while he works at a barbershop. While dropping her off, Jeanise is shocked that Borat has Tutar drink out of a dog bowl and is given a “ball and chain” to make her feel safe.

After Borat leaves, and the pair spend more time together, Jeanise discovers that Tutar has been lied to her entire life through controlling myths like women can’t drive or read, and that masturbation will cause your vagina to swallow you up whole.

Then, in a strangely touching scene that no one really ever expected to come out a fake documentary like Borat, Jeanise Jones shares some words of wisdom and extends kindness to Tutar.

After Tutar reveals that her father wants her to get breast implants so that she can be more desirable to men, Jeanise reminds Tutar of her beauty and brains and urges the 15-year-old to do what makes her happy, not what makes her father happy.

“You’re pretty and you’re young and any man should like you as you are. You shouldn’t wanna be anyone else but yourself,” Jeanise tells Tutar in the car outside the clinic.

“You are beautiful. I want you to be happy. Think about going to school. Use your brain, because your daddy is a liar.”

The conversation is a lightbulb moment for Tutar, who decides to not go ahead with the surgery, and instead chooses to become a journalist. Similarly, Jeanise also acts as the voice of reason towards the end of the film, which helps Borat finally realise that he actually does love his daughter. This encourages Borat to stop Tutar from offering herself as a sacrifice to the Trump administration, resulting in that controversial scene.

Was Jeanise Jones In On It?

As soon as Borat Subsequent Movie Film dropped on Amazon Prime, people begun to tweet their love for Jeanise Jones, declaring her the real hero and true star of Borat 2. 

It’s clear that without Jeanise’s kindness and genuine care for Tutar, Borat 2 would’ve gone an entirely different route. As a non-scripted film, the events that take place are entirely placed on how the real people featured on screen act towards certain situations. And so, Jeanise’s guidance made her the most important part of Borat Subsequent Movie Film. 

But despite what many may think, just like most featured in Borat Subsequent Movie Film, Jeanise Jones was aware that she was being filmed, but just not for Borat specifically.

The recently unemployed 62-year-old grandmother to six shared on her personal Facebook account that while she had been “recruited to be in a ‘documentary'”, she never knew it would be for a “satirical comedy movie”. Jeanise Jones also explained that her involvement in Borat 2 was simply her just trying to do what what her late mother taught her to do: be kind.

Thank you to all who have reached out to me from here in OKC to around the entire world! Yes it was me in the Borat…

Posted by Jeanise Jones on Sunday, 25 October 2020

According to an interview with ShowBiz 411, Jeanise got involved with Borat 2 after producers scouted for “grandmother types” at her local church. After the pastor suggested that producers speak to Jeanise, they were instantly smitten with her.

The whole thing worked perfectly because Jeanise had never seen the original Borat and had no clue who Sacha Baron Cohen even was. The grandmother was also under the impression that the film was a documentary about women in third world countries not having rights, and that it would only be shown on “an educational channel” and “never in the US”.

Jeanise shared that her reactions were genuine because Maria Bakalova was such a convincing actor. The grandmother went on to say that she and the church “were praying for this girl and what was going to happen to her” as they believed she was in some serious trouble.

Jeanise says she was only paid $3,600 for her time and appearances — and then never heard from production again. In fact, she only found out that she was even in Borat Subsequent Movie Film when her cousin noticed her in an Amazon Prime trailer.

In response to the overwhelming love for Jeanise Jones, her pastor has since set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the grandmother, who lost her job due to COVID.

On the fundraising page, Pastor Derrick Scobey notes that everything that Jeanise said “all came from the heart” and “was not scripted”. He also shares that the grandmother has been worried about Tutar for an entire year, and “wasn’t paid much money at all for her role in this movie”.

Since losing the job she held for 32 years as a direct result of the pandemic, the pastor hopes that people might be open to “saying thank you to Jeanise with a tangible gift”. In two days, the fundraiser has raised $2,919 — almost as much as Jeanise Jones was paid to star in the film.

While $3,600 is better than nothing, it is quite sad to see that the heart and soul of Borat 2 was paid peanuts. Especially when Jeanise Jones, real-life angel, truly does deserve the world.

You can stream ‘Borat Subsequent Movie Film’ on Amazon Prime now.