BRUNO (2009)
I’ll admit I’m a Sacha Baron Cohen fan. I enjoyed BORAT, and ALI G and the HBO show as well. That is, once I got the joke that people around him think that he’s actually for real. Otherwise it would be simple obnoxious characters 1-3, and done before. Going into to BRUNO, I was ready for it to top the outrageous nature of BORAT, and it certainly did. It trumped it in crudeness within the first twenty minutes. Its about what you would expect from Sacha with this character.
BRUNO follows the exploits of a canceled fashion show host coming to America to hit it big and become famous. He tries various things to gain him fame and fortune, from filming a sex tape with someone famous, to pitching his own TV show, to adopting an African child and many more moments of madness. For the most part, it follows the same structural form as BORAT. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, yes?
What bothered me was that sometimes he would indeed go for the obvious jokes. The stereotypical types of things associated with the gay culture, coming from a straight man talking. In a way, this turned me off from the film. Not because of the content itself, but just that it seemed unfair to paint a painting of which the subject may be misconstrued. I am reminded of many of the complaints of the film, THE BIRDCAGE, which depicted Nathan Lane’s character as a sobbing, swaying complete stereotype. Its one thing to play it up, but another to say that what is being depicted as truth.
Another thing that bothered me was that as he was encountering people that didn’t know he was acting (Ron Paul for example), it became quite uncomfortable. With BORAT, he was to be excused because he was unfamiliar with American customs. BRUNO should know that trying to seduce someone like Ron Paul shouldn’t be done. Also, there’s a cringe inducing scene of him interviewing mothers of potential child actors, who agree to some outrageous things for their child to endure if they got the job. I sat mouth agape in fear that these people actually exist. It wasn’t funny anymore. It was scary.
What works best about BORAT is that through Sasha’s comedy, he exposes a double sided nature to us as Americans and the conventions/scruples of our society. Bruno just stands naked in our face and we have to deal with it. It doesn’t become funny anymore. In the TV series, BRUNO would interview various fashion designers and expose how dumb they are, as well as exposing their dual sided nature. There’s a scene where he makes a person say Paris Hilton is actually cool because it would be good for sponsors of his show, he says. He interviews another designer and keeps dancing around his answers, exposing him for the fraud he is. This is what made the character of BRUNO work for me. It didn’t go for cheap jokes. But in film form, he did. And I think it suffers from that.
But I will say that I laughed sometimes. Especially at the end scene. There’s cameos in there that I will not spoil, and for me it left me laughing at the end. Overall, I liked the film but I think it is a pale comparison to the far superior (and relevant) BORAT.
GRADE: 4 Velcro suits out of 5
For more from the author ADAM TALLEY, including a look at his independent comic book work, visithttp://www.idiothead.com
Raised primarily in central Michigan all his life, Adam is a successful writer, artist and self publisher. He is best known for his comics: PLEASANT LIFE, THE EXPENDABLES, WISE INTELLIGENCE and the upcoming ANNA POCOLYPSE. He also wrote a free online how to book called "IN THE TRENCHES: HOW TO SURVIVE AS A SMALL PRESS COMIC BOOK PUBLISHER." He also has done some pinup work for ANTARCTIC PRESS and logo designs for many other clients. He has been featured on web sites, newspapers, television and magazines talking about his work and travels around the country promoting it. He resides in Southwest Michigan. 
