- Bruno Movie Poster - Universal Pictures
Not everyone likes, or ‘gets’ Bruno - another character Sacha Baron Cohen has brought to the big screen from his UK television comedy Da Ali G Show. While his last film Borat was well received, with Bruno Baron Cohen has amped up the offensive, this time hitting out at homophobes and Hollywood, and it seems a lot of people are angry.
Bruno - The Film
Bruno, the flamboyant Austrian fashion reporter, heads for Hollywood to seek a movie career, or as he puts it, to become "the biggest Austrian superstar since Hitler"( Baron Cohen, for those that don't know, IS Jewish). Along the way he targets celebrities, fame-seekers and other trappings of the entertainment industry with sometimes funny, and yes, sometimes simply shocking results.
Like Borat, it's an exhausting movie to watch. The viewer is constantly on the edge of their seat, asking "Is he really going to do THAT?" and then he does, and then some. For all the cringing, there are still plenty of laughs though. The backstage interview with a model at a fashion show is classic Bruno. “Modelling’s a hard job,” he suggests, “Yes” she agrees. ”Yes,” he goes on, “you have to put your left leg in front of your right leg”... and so on, as she nods in agreement.
It's this kind of disarming ignorance, usually veiled under the guise of the politically incorrect ‘idiot foreigner' that Sacha Baron Cohen has used with his characters to lure out prejudices on camera. How else do you get Paula Abdul to sit on crouching Mexican workers supposedly replacing absent furniture? Of course some cynics might argue that she was in on the joke.
While Borat, a Kazakh man portrayed as ill mannered, incestuous, ignorant, racist and sexist, didn’t cause too much of a stir, Bruno’s flamboyant homosexuality has outraged and upset many viewers. Baron Cohen has created an obvious and extreme stereotype, and uses this guise to unveil intolerance and ignorance, and especially homophobia. It’s not for everyone, but perhaps worth asking why it is making audiences so angry.
The Verdict on Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno
Yes, it does feel a bit like a sequel to Borat, and a little disjointed at times, but once you get over the shock, there's plenty of insightful and funny material in there.
Everyone can at least agree that it isn't boring. Just wait for the talking, dancing penis and the hilarious ‘self defense from three dildos’ class.
What's Next
Fans, look out for Baron Cohen's upcoming film Accidentes in which he plays a Hispanic ambulance-chasing attorney. Perhaps not so provocative? Audiences will have to wait and see.
- Bruno
- Starring Sacha Baron Cohen
- Written by Sacha Baron Cohen and Anthony Hines
- Directed by Larry Charles
- Running time: 81 minutes
Colette Haydon John - Colette Haydon John graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Major in Creative Writing, and holds a Graduate Diploma in Education ...
