Robin PottratzReview:"Bruno" doesn't hit all targets...but is still fun *** stars out of 4
August 9th 2009 21:40
Sacha Baron Cohen unleashes a new fireball with "Bruno"
Bruno, Sacha Baron Cohen's follow up to his hugely successful docucomedy Borat was supposed to be a lot of things upon release. It was supposed to make a statement about intolerance toward gays. It was supposed to be another breakthrough in comedy. It was supposed to solidify Baron Cohen as the new rampaging id of comedy...and above all it was supposed to be a hit.
In all honesty Bruno succeeds and fails...the most glaring failure being its lack of box office receipts. It opened at #1 with $30 million dollars...but has since sunk like a stone and after five weeks hasn't even reached $60 million. That means it won't be considered a hit and will not even come close to the $130 million gross of Borat.
As for whether or not Bruno achieves its other goals and hits its other targets...the answer is yes...and no.
Let me explain with a little plot detail:
Bruno is a famous, coiffed, and very very gay Austrian TV fashion host of a program that discusses such topics as "why autism is out." During Milan fashion week, Bruno wears an all Velcro suit at a show and is fired and banned from all of the hot fashion spots in Europe...he then decides that his only way out is to go to America in order to become "uber famous, the first gay Austrian celebrity since Schwarzenegger."
Now let me backtrack...like I said before, Bruno is very gay and has had only two loves in his life...Rob from Milli Vanilli and Diesel his Pygmy sex slave. There is a scene that shows the in home activities of Diesel and Bruno in which a vacuum sucks Bruno's balls, champagne is served from a bottle that is lodged in Diesel's ass and they attempt penetration by running into each other from opposite ends of the room. If you can get through this sequence...you'll be golden...but this scene brings up a point about Bruno's targets of intolerance that I will address later.
Back to the present...Bruno (who has been dumped by Diesel) and his pale lovesick assistant Lutz (Gustaf Hammarsten) go to LA in an attempt to break in to the industry and become famous. During his time in LA, Bruno works as an extra for Medium and attempts to put together a TV pilot where he dances, criticizes the weight of Jaime Lynn Spears' fetus and has a swinging penis that talks...naturally test audiences don't like it.
Other Bruno attempts to become famous are modeled after the absurdity of celebrity culture such as adopting african children as accessories, taking up an human rights cause (he attempts to bring peace to Israel and Palestine), and making a sex tape with a celebrity (he chooses former Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul).
Now this is where Bruno really works...when it is sending up the ridiculousness of celebrity culture...where people can become famous for silly and immoral reasons. Bruno's path to celebrity is entirely guided by what makes a celebrity today...and Baron Cohen is sharp enough to see that Hollywood is as deep as a wading pool. Bruno is at its best in this regard and when it criticizes these topics...it comes close to the razor sharp brand of humor that made Borat so successful.
Where Bruno fails is when it tries to use its lead character as a figure head to send up regular people and make them appear to be homophobic. This simply doesn't work because Bruno as a character is an absolute extreme and represents every stereotype that the gay community has had to contend with for decades.
The scene with Bruno and Diesel is not an accurate portrayal of the sex lives of most homosexuals...and I can assure you that if it were two straight people in that scene...it would get the same disgusted reactions by moviegoers (there have allegedly been a large number of walkouts).
When Bruno attempts his sex tape with Ron Paul and attempts to seduce him by removing his clothes and doing a go go dance...Paul storms off and calls him a "queer." It would be easy to brand Paul to be a homophobe...but the truth of the matter is that Bruno is acting like a sick freak in the scene and Paul's reaction is pretty justified.
However, Bruno is able to land some punches against homophobia. When he attempts to be converted into being straight and tells the preacher attempting to convert him that he has "wonderful dick sucking lips," his reaction is priceless.
There also is one funny scene where Bruno uses a medium to connect to the deceased Rob from Milli Vanilli in order to give him one last blow job from the afterlife...all mimed of course...the reaction of the psychic is hysterical.
The best attempt that Bruno makes at sexual intolerance has to come when he visits a swingers party where couples swap partners and try any sexual adventure they can...but get angry and scoff at the idea of a same sex tryst and chase Bruno away. It is a poignant scene because of the intense amount of hypocrisy on display...this sequence is the closest Bruno comes to achieving its largest aspiration...which is to slam down the wall of intolerance.
However the ending scene lands right in the middle...the newly macho Bruno stands in the middle of a UFC cage and talks about straight pride when Lutz walks in and they proceed to go at it in front of 10,000 rabid fight fans. This scene works as shot at the rampaging unhealthy id that fills UFC and its fans...but I would think that this wouldn't be the place for two gay people to fall in love and consummate...this scene...with the rest of the movie is simple, you take the good with the bad.
One thing that can be said for Bruno is that it is consistently funny...and has a few moments where it is downright hilarious. Bruno's constant attempts and failures at finding a cause...which culminate in a "we are the world" type song with Snoop Dogg, and Bono...are pure comedy glee. Since it is a comedy first (or at least it should be) Bruno succeeds tremendously.
However, the movie doesn't have a real clear and coherent message...which would be fine if it wasn't trying to have one. Baron Cohen is trying to throw a lot of arrows at a lot of targets and he doesn't always hit the mark. The movie doesn't really succeed as a stance against homophobia...but it does work at exploiting the silly Hollywood culture that exists today.
My recommendation is this...if you want to see Bruno and you have the attitude that you will take the good with the bad...then see it and enjoy it. The film is not for everyone, but those who see it and take it in stride will have a fun time with their beautiful Austrian guide.
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