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
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