Movie review: Brüno

by Alex Bentley

When Borat came out in 2006, star Sacha Baron Cohen was hailed as a comedic genius for being willing to do anything and everything for the sake of his act. That meant, among other things, butchering the national anthem at a Southern rodeo, presenting the hostess of a party he was attending with his own feces in a bag (because Borat didn’t understand the concept of a toilet), and streaking naked with the hefty Ken Davitian through a hotel.

As the tagline for Brüno (aka Brüno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-shirt) says, that was so 2006. Brüno, the third and final character to get the movie treatment from Cohen’s acclaimed TV series, Da Ali G Show, might just be the most outrageous of them all. A gay Austrian fashionista, Brüno, like his brethren, tours the U.S. to expose the blatant prejudices of many Americans. The “story,” such as it is, is Brüno’s quest to become a worldwide superstar.

After failing to make it big during Fashion Week in Milan (an incident with a Velcro suit might have had something to with that), Brüno heads to America with his assistant’s assistant, Lutz (Gustaf Hammersten) to seek his stardom. Starting in Los Angeles, Brüno proceeds to torture a series of rubes unsuspecting citizens, including well-known people like Paula Abdul, Ron Paul, and in one hilariously brief encounter, Harrison Ford.

But, as always, it’s the “regular” people Brüno messes with that prove to hold the most comedic material. For North Texans, his fake talk show in Carrollton is already the stuff of legend. He also takes good advantage of other Southerners, staying an extended amount of time in Alabama to hunt, attend a swinger’s party, and attempt to be “turned straight” by a Christian pastor.

Two other moments stand out the most, though. The first involves a focus group brought together to view Brüno’s attempt at a celebrity interview program. The aghast reactions of the group as Brüno does everything in his power to offend them (including an extended shot of a twirling penis) are priceless. For aghast reactions from the audience, one need look no further than the stage parents involved in the segment where Brüno casts a photo shoot with his “son” (a black baby he supposedly picked up in Africa after a quick sojourn to the Middle East). No matter what horrific situation Brüno presents to the parents of the kid hopefuls, each one of them is more than willing to say that their child will do it. It is here that Cohen's masterful comedic mind is on full display.

There are a few qualms to be had with Brüno, however. While the storyline is far from the most important part of the film, only slight lip service is paid to connecting the various bits together. This leads to the film feeling a little disjointed at times, something that could have been prevented. And despite the film containing many locations, much of it is set in the South, where finding people who would be prejudiced against a gay man is like shooting fish in a barrel. If he was able to accomplish the same feats in, say, the Northeast, that would have been saying something.

But what Brüno does more than anything else is prove that Cohen is the most audacious comedian working today. His commitment to his act and willingness to go to any length necessary for a joke is stunning. Now that he's out of characters to put on film, it'll be interesting to see what he comes up with next. But you can bet it'll be something off-putting, offensive, and downright hilarious.