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BRÜNO

With Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten, Clifford Bañagale, Chibundu Orukwowu

Written by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Mazer, Jeff Schaffer
Directed by Larry Charles

It seems as though Sacha Baron Cohen's first breakthrough character Ali G has faded into obscurity with his newer creations Borat and Brüno. And these two global hits started out as inserts in the Ali G show (almost like The Simpsons were short cartoons on the Tracey Ullman show, going solo into the stratosphere). Larry Charles, director of Borat (and Religulous) is also back.
Borat is the fish-out of water Kazakhstan TV presenter exploring American culture, and in the process exposing its often ridiculous outlook on life. Where Borat is awkward and incompetent, Brüno is the openly gay, extravagantly extroverted Austrian fashion TV host who (in this motion picture) loses his job and gets shunned, but decides to head for the USA to become famous. This involves a journey from attempting to land a starring role by getting an agent, screening a hilariously graphic TV show pilot to a test panel, and trying to make a sex tape, to adopting a black baby, appearing on a talk show, trying to get kidnapped by terrorists and brokering a peace deal between Israel and Palestine, in order to gain fame. He even tries to get cured of his gayness in a variety of ways (from religious intervention and joining a boot camp, to a hunting trip with rednecks and attending a swingers party).
Along for the ride is the assistant to his assistant, Lutz (when he was still big in Austria). The situations are absolutely hilarious, and if you don't get it, there's no use trying to have someone explain it to you.
Those who think Cohen is a mere clown are missing the point completely, as he gets so involved in these characters he creates that he becomes them (from the look to the accent), making them believable to the audience even when they are blatant caricatures of how the majority of humanity see foreigners or gay people. And on top of that it is hardly just a hidden camera show to get the audience laughing at the unsuspecting victims, but well-crafted social commentary, in this case touching on the the world's view of gay people and artificial celebrity culture which is running rampant (from movie stars not having a private life to pre-teens idolizing Paris Hilton). Case in point, his auditioning of parents to include their infants in his outrageously tasteless photo-shoot is a jaw-dropping and shocking exposition on what parents are prepared to do to get their kids into show business (even when it will affect their health or even injure or kill them!).
It is almost unbelievable that some personalities in the public eye don't know who Brüno really is, especially after the Borat movie and the wide availability of the Ali G episodes, so it sometimes makes one wonder which of them are in on the deal (but only one of them were). The hapless celebrities and members of the public get taken big-time, and while Brüno's main focus was to do interviews with the glitzy, rich and famous people of the world from fashion to entertainment affiliates, here it expands beyond that (as he did with the Borat movie). Where some of the trailer clips seemed a bit staged 9being isolated from the whoel), for the most part this movie is the real deal.
This brand of humour cannot be pulled off by just anyone, making Cohen the leader in his field, and as there are sure to be millions offended by this (including those suffering from homophobia), I'm quite curious to hear the reactions from the gay community (and see what Cohen does next as more and more people will start to recognise him.


Bonus Features:
You get several deleted and extended scenes, including people like Latoyah Jackson, baseball player Pete Rose, but the highlight is by far the commentary tarck with Cohen and David - for a change it is an enlightening and informative experience as they expose exactly how they pulle dall of this off and just how much actually went into it - from trying not to be recognised or arrested, to more details about situations not captured on tape. They evn pause the movie to talk extensively about some scenes, in order not to speak over the scene thereafter. One section that is blank (with some additional thank-you's added in later is the section where
Brüno tries to get himself kidnapped by an alleged terorist leader > there was a news clip about the guy (allegedly a cafe owner) who took great offence at the insinuation and tricking into the situation, so I'm sure there are legal matters attached to it, hence the lack of commentary for that scene.
The DVD also has a great menu design.

Note: Some extreme suggested sexuality and nudity may scare off some viewers.

6 / A
- Paul Blom


0 1 2 3 4 5 6
- A - B - C


Click below for Borat (starring Cohen) and Religulous - both directed by David



6 - Volcanic
5 - Blistering
4 - Hot
3 - Smolder
2 - Room Temp.
1 - Fizzled
0 - Extinguished

A: Multiple Viewing Potential
B: Deserves Another Look
C: Once Should Suffice

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