Bruno reviewed
With Watchmen, the closing credits of The Hangover, and, now, Bruno, 2009 looks set to go down as Hollywood’s Year of the Schlong. Never before has male nudity featured prominently in so many mainstream films. Of course, given that Bruno is a comedy hell-bent on drawing gasps and giggles from its audience, nudity is present purely for its shock, and therefore, laughter, value.
Starring British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, Bruno is the follow-up to the smash hit 2006 mockumentary Borat (full title Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan). This time around Cohen introduces cinema audiences to the least known, and arguably least popular, of the characters from his TV series, Da Ali G Show – Bruno, a flamboyantly gay, fashion-obsessed TV journalist from Austria.
As a comedy, Bruno is unquestionably a hit-and-miss affair. Although it follows almost exactly the same format as Borat – clueless TV interviewer comes to America with camera and loyal lackey in tow – the films are quite different. Bruno isn’t quite as enjoyable as Borat, but this probably has a lot to do with the fact that the 2 characters are very different. While Borat is crude and anti-Semitic, he is at heart a sweet guy looking for love and happiness. Bruno, by contrast, is a self-absorbed asshole who uses and abuses people as he strives to become an international celebrity. This is his lifelong ambition; his whole reason for living: fame.
Bruno the film is also substantially different from Borat in terms of the social issues it critiques. Obviously anti-gay prejudice and hysteria take centre stage, but Bruno also has a great deal to say about our celebrity-obsessed culture, and the individuals we have come to venerate. As a character Bruno is a prime example of the many shallow people out there who actively seek public adoration despite having done nothing worthwhile to achieve it. In one brief scene, Cohen even takes a stab at the cruelty of celebrity commentators like Perez Hilton. Here Bruno hosts a TV show in which he, and a fellow Z-grade celebrity, profile pregnant celebrities, critique scans of their foetuses and then vote whether the babies should be aborted or not.
Mixing scripted scenes and candid camera-style interactions with the unsuspecting public, Bruno definitely gets stronger as it progresses. The film starts off very Zoolander-ish in terms of its satirical focus, before shifting the action to Hollywood for several celebrity encounters that feel very contrived. Once Bruno unleashes himself on the Middle East, however, the film becomes a lot more amusing, and the consistency rate of laughs a lot higher. Highlights from the second half of the film include Bruno’s stint with the US military, and his visit to a swingers’ party.
Although Bruno is definitely not for the easily offended, and probably won’t stand up with repeat viewings, the film is enjoyable enough. Cohen deserves respect for the gutsiness of his comedy. Frequently he puts himself in potentially very dangerous situations to either push home a particularly sharp satirical barb, or simply provide the audience with amusement.
One final thing in Bruno’s favour is that the film definitely won’t become one of those “trendy” comedies that everyone is expected to declare their love for. Politically incorrect films lose their edginess when their lingo is gleefully adopted by the conservative middle-aged masses. “Groovy, baby, yeah!” “Hiya-five!” Austin Powers and Borat are prime examples of this. At least with the sexually explicit and frequently shocking Bruno, it’s unlikely you have to worry about your 60 year old corporate director striding into a meeting and complaining about the pain in his “Auschwitz.”
Starring British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, Bruno is the follow-up to the smash hit 2006 mockumentary Borat (full title Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan). This time around Cohen introduces cinema audiences to the least known, and arguably least popular, of the characters from his TV series, Da Ali G Show – Bruno, a flamboyantly gay, fashion-obsessed TV journalist from Austria.
As a comedy, Bruno is unquestionably a hit-and-miss affair. Although it follows almost exactly the same format as Borat – clueless TV interviewer comes to America with camera and loyal lackey in tow – the films are quite different. Bruno isn’t quite as enjoyable as Borat, but this probably has a lot to do with the fact that the 2 characters are very different. While Borat is crude and anti-Semitic, he is at heart a sweet guy looking for love and happiness. Bruno, by contrast, is a self-absorbed asshole who uses and abuses people as he strives to become an international celebrity. This is his lifelong ambition; his whole reason for living: fame.
Bruno the film is also substantially different from Borat in terms of the social issues it critiques. Obviously anti-gay prejudice and hysteria take centre stage, but Bruno also has a great deal to say about our celebrity-obsessed culture, and the individuals we have come to venerate. As a character Bruno is a prime example of the many shallow people out there who actively seek public adoration despite having done nothing worthwhile to achieve it. In one brief scene, Cohen even takes a stab at the cruelty of celebrity commentators like Perez Hilton. Here Bruno hosts a TV show in which he, and a fellow Z-grade celebrity, profile pregnant celebrities, critique scans of their foetuses and then vote whether the babies should be aborted or not.
Mixing scripted scenes and candid camera-style interactions with the unsuspecting public, Bruno definitely gets stronger as it progresses. The film starts off very Zoolander-ish in terms of its satirical focus, before shifting the action to Hollywood for several celebrity encounters that feel very contrived. Once Bruno unleashes himself on the Middle East, however, the film becomes a lot more amusing, and the consistency rate of laughs a lot higher. Highlights from the second half of the film include Bruno’s stint with the US military, and his visit to a swingers’ party.
Although Bruno is definitely not for the easily offended, and probably won’t stand up with repeat viewings, the film is enjoyable enough. Cohen deserves respect for the gutsiness of his comedy. Frequently he puts himself in potentially very dangerous situations to either push home a particularly sharp satirical barb, or simply provide the audience with amusement.
One final thing in Bruno’s favour is that the film definitely won’t become one of those “trendy” comedies that everyone is expected to declare their love for. Politically incorrect films lose their edginess when their lingo is gleefully adopted by the conservative middle-aged masses. “Groovy, baby, yeah!” “Hiya-five!” Austin Powers and Borat are prime examples of this. At least with the sexually explicit and frequently shocking Bruno, it’s unlikely you have to worry about your 60 year old corporate director striding into a meeting and complaining about the pain in his “Auschwitz.”
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