Bruno

The brilliant British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen dips into his stable of pre-existing characters and comes up with a big-screen vehicle for Brüno, a gay Austrian fashionista. Brüno is blond, fame-hungry, and prone to wearing unexpected combinations of lederhosen and hot pants. But it's his runway disaster with an all-Velcro suit that gets him barred from the Milan fashion scene and leads to the cancellation of his TV show. ("For the second time in a century, Austria had turned on its most famous man," he complains.) Clearly, he needs to go to America and share his philosophy--or at least become a celebrity in whatever way possible. Brüno rolls out in a fashion similar to Borat, a combination of a scripted through-line interspersed with scenes of Baron Cohen improvising with people who don't realize they're being set up, Candid Camera-style. About half the time, this reaps some healthy laughs: a sequence with Brüno sitting down for a conversation with a "de-programmer" who claims to cure people of their homosexuality is on-topic, and there's a wild series of interviews with parents so desperate to get their kiddies into showbiz they'll agree to all manner of dangerous and irresponsible childcare. A lot of the humor isn't about Brüno's gayness at all; Baron Cohen is at his best when displaying freakish comic bravery (sitting across from a terrorist, he advises that "Your King Osama looks like a dirty wizard"). But the other half of Brüno simply misses the movie's best targets--homophobia and celebrity culture--by miscalculating the nature of ambush comedy. When Baron Cohen gets former Presidential candidate Ron Paul in a hotel room and begins to undress, Paul isn't showing bigotry by storming out (except in his language); he's understandably reacting to obnoxious behavior in a supposedly professional situation. Too many set-ups fall short of the mother-lode pay dirt that Borat so frequently hit, leaving this a distinctly lesser item in the Baron Cohen portfolio. --Robert Horton

Stills from Bruno (Click for larger image)

and he doesn't look a thing like Borat

Review Date: July 10, 2009

Reviewer: lochnessa7, Half Hollow Hills, NY

I have to see Bruno more than once, most people probably do too. That's because Bruno is one of those rare movies where you're laughing so hard at some parts you know you're missing the next funny thing. As gay, Austrian fashionista and celebrity-wannabe Bruno, Baron Cohen continues his jaw-droppingly crass and outrageous stealth comedy antics. Purportedly, Baron Cohen has been beaten up while in character, so it only seems fair that he makes his audience laugh hard enough to hurt. Of course the usual Baron Cohen caveat is in order: yes, its offensive, yes, its gross, yes, there is a LOT of nudity, mostly male. If any of this is not your cup of tea, that's dandy, no hard feelings. If you don't mind the occasional sight of literally bouncing balls in the name of comedy, Bruno is pure gold. Post Borat fame has probably necessitated that more of this movie be staged, with at least some of the people (a talk show host, the driver of an oncoming car) in on the joke. But scripted or natural- its wickedly funny. And enough of it is genuine- including Bruno's interview/sex tape with Ron Paul, parents of would-be baby stars volunteering their 12-month-olds to play Nazis, ex-gay ministers, straight-rally wrestling audiences and general bystanders to Bruno's public antics. Bruno balances the line between social commentary and comedy like a model on a catwalk. As with Borat half the humor comes from people reactings (or not) to the character's outrageous behavior, and half from the eerily apt caricature Baron Cohen creates. Fame-hound Bruno is everything narcissitic, uninformed, vain and with the all-too-common undeserved sense of entitlement that makes up the worst of American pop culture. As with Borat, Bruno learns some life-lessons and grows as a person by the end of the movie- as Baron Cohen always seems to want to better his audience, even if he has to beat them over the head with a dildo to do it.

Laughed so hard.... but not for the easily offended

Review Date: July 11, 2009

Reviewer: scot16897, Austin, Texas United States

This movie is *clearly* for those not easily offended. It is shocking and hysterical, but I don't think I could allow my parents to go see it. Sasha Baron Cohen's latest creation, Bruno, makes his way to America to become uber-famous any way he can. And he goes through lots of different attempts on his way. Acting, interviewing celebrities, guesting on talk shows, becoming straight, he tries many methods, each with it's painfully funny result. You'll love the Paula Abdul interview, particularly. The interactions with people are wonderful, and you will be appalled at what some parents will do to get their children into show business. Just stunning. There are a lot of shocking/uncomfortable funny moments (be prepared for gratuitous male nudity), and I am no sure how they will hold up for repeated viewings, but in a crowded theater, it was a scream. The ending is worth the buildup, and stick around for the closing song. I laughed so hard that my face was hurting, and my wife was crying from laughing so hard. It takes a while to recover, but soooooo worth it! NOT for the kids.

Perhaps the funniest and saddest movie to take on the gay issue yet

Review Date: December 7, 2009

Reviewer: Neil Kambeaze, Eugene, OR

I rented Bruno from NetFlix with mixed feelings. I had seen Cohen's other works, including Borat and the Ali G Show, both of which I found deceptively intelligent and political. His ability to make his characters' stupidity an incisive mirror which he holds up to society is mind-boggling. With Borat, I thought this form of comedy had reached it's highest point. I was wrong. Bruno goes further. Some are offended by the gratuitous male nudity. Deal with it. If looking at penises makes you deeply uncomfortable, you probably have issues that run deeper than Bruno. It's true that a lot of the content of the movie revolves around Cohen using his flamboyantly gay character Bruno to make conservative anti-gay types uncomfortable. This can be uncomfortable for the viewer as well, but with the ultimate pay-off of revealing America's deep-seated homophobia and questioning it. SPOILER WARNING The film's finale gathers a large number of red-neck cage-fight enthusiasts in an arena for an event hosted by "Straight Dave", Bruno's straight alter-ego. When they get a touching (if gratuitously gay) scene of male-male reconciliation and love, the fans go crazy with disgust. Some of the audience leave, some yell violent hate slogans, some throw drinks at Bruno and his lover. Several of the fans looks shocked and betrayed, several of them comically wearing "Straight Dave" T-shirts they'd gotten for the event. I even saw a few in the crowd who looked like they understood the point that Cohen was making. People who were suddenly more disgusted by the gross display of homophobic violence on the part of the fans than the homosexual love that was taking place within the cage. While his methods may be questionable, I feel America is indebted to Cohen for his bravery, and that he is one of the single largest contributors to intelligent social commentary through comedy today.

park your sensibilities at the door for once

Review Date: July 30, 2009

Reviewer: movie watcher,

quite simply, the funniest movie ever. DO NOT TAKE THE KIDS UNLESS YOU WANT TO SPEND DINNER AT MCDONALD'S EXPLAINING WHY THE ASIAN MAN HAD A CHAMPAGNE BOTTLE IN HIS BUTT.

I laughed, cried, threw up

Review Date: December 13, 2009

Reviewer: R. Crawford, Indiana

I laughed to tears each of the three times I saw Bruno in theaters. Seeing it on DVD, I laughed to the point of throwing up.