With three funny ladies in contention for the part, there was no doubt whoever landed it would be good for the role, it was just a matter of who it wound up being.
According to Deadline, Anna Faris has beaten out Kristen Wiig and “Community” star Gillian Jacobs for the female lead opposite Sacha Baron Cohen in his forthcoming “The Dictator.” Faris is now in talks for the role — which will require heavy improvising — of an owner of an organic food store and love interest in the film. Cohen will play dual parts as both a goat herder and a deposed foreign dictator who gets lost in the United States. His encounter with Faris will begin to soften his dictatorial heart. While we would’ve preferred Wiig, we think Faris has the chops to stand toe-to-toe with Cohen. It will also be interesting to see the actor play against another thesp since to date, his comedies — “Borat,” “Bruno” and “Da Ali G Show” — have mostly found their laughs by having him befuddle ordinary folks.
Faris joins Ben Kingsley and Jason Mantzoukas in the film that will be directed by Larry Charles and will start lensing this month. “The Dictator” will hit theaters on May 11, 2012.
