Had the Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev taken the film in good humour and not as a slight against his country (which, admittedly, it sort of is in some ways), he may have benefited even more. As it is, he’s seen as a bit of a curmudgeon in the media and this has somewhat detracted from the positive coverage generated for Kazakhstan. That said, negative press is still press and serves to put Kazakhstan on the map and in the spotlight. In comparison to the image painted of the USA by the film, Kazakhstan got off lightly in my opinion!

Incidentally and quite fortunately, the Kazakhstani premier’s daughter publicly derided her father for being too touchy and embraced the comedic nature of the film…teenage rebellion is a beautiful thing!

Moreover, there are the court cases being brought against the film makers by some of the ‘cast’ of the film which, in other circles, would damage the reputation of the subject. however, when the film is notorious for being ‘offensive’ or close to the mark, very public legal wranglings surrounding the film will only serve to push more people to see the film to see what ‘all the fuss’ is about.