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Review - Bruno
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In 2006, Borat seemed to come out of nowhere. Sure its star Sacha Baron Cohen was a comedic darling in Britain and his television series “Da Ali G Show” had run on HBO, but most had never heard of the actor, let alone his Kazakhstani reporter. However, the internet was ripe with hype for Borat and audiences were howling over the trailer. The movie opened on only 837 screens. Compare that to the roughly 2,700 this weekend for Cohen’s latest Bruno and you have an idea how much of a phenomenon Borat became.
Once again, Cohen’s creation is an outlandish melding of stereotypes who interview, visit and proposition a wide variety of unwitting strangers, with a string-thin plot to tie it together. Bruno is our protagonist this time, the last of Cohen’s signature characters to get an entire feature to itself, the first being the oft forgotten, and rightfully so, Ali G Indahouse, which was entirely scripted. Bruno is both the most in your face and boldest of Cohen’s constructions, commonly seen in tight, thoroughly revealing pants. He is an Austrian and, most controversialy, an extremely flamboyant gay man, a homophobe’s worst nightmare and Cohen, working with director Larry Charles and a trio of co-writers, knows how to push those fearful buttons. And push they do.
After a slow opening that sets Bruno’s framework - too much acting, not enough faux documentary - the movie heads all over the world to confront people’s idea of gay men. Bruno is chased through the Middle East city streets and told that gays equal terrorists, followed by meeting the head of a an actual terrorist cell, asking why Osama Bin Laden looks like a, “homeless Santa Claus.” He heads to a Jerry Spring-like show, then talks to a Christian man who can “cure” his sexuality. The latter recommends heading to a swingers party where Bruno’s told he is eyeing the wrong naked body parts. Cohen goes for big laughs each time and usually gets them. The spotty storytelling, if one can call it that, forces each scenario to stand on its own and several of them fail miserably, killing the comedic flow. Yet, Bruno picks things up rather quickly after every blunder.
At one point, Bruno and CBS hold a focus group for a new program, complete with Harrison Ford’s all-time greatest interview and Paula Abdul sitting on one of several, “Mexican Chair People.” What follows is a prime example of Cohen’s bizarre dedication and proof that Bruno isn’t solely out to ridicule anyone and everyone. The movie also enjoys seeing how the Average Joe responds to utter ridiculousness. That said, the movie’s crowning achievement is without a doubt its lengthy final gag, held at a UFC style cage fight in Alabama. The promoted man on man action is not quite what the crowd suspects, revealing a prime example of how far this county has to go while still making its uproarious point.
The freshness of Borat has passed but Cohen and company still know how to shock in its highbrow by lowbrow way.
Bruno opens wide all across Seattle today.
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