‘Bruno’ Sucks More than its Protagonist Does, and That’s Saying Something
-----‘Borat’ was Sacha Baron Cohen’s breakout role. His mockumentary about a bizarre character in America was a surprise hit, and led to this year’s ‘Bruno.’ This time playing a gay Austrian fashion model, Cohen once again looks for humor by means of making celebrities and random Americans feel uncomfortable as they get pissed off. And while there is a laugh here and there due to the one note satire that runs throughout the film, most of it is just plain damn stupid.
-----‘Bruno’ is a mockumentary about a gay Austrian fashion model who is disgraced after falling on stage in a suit made entirely of Velcro. Yes, that is the level of the majority of the humor. Anyway, Bruno decides to head to America and become a celebrity, and star Sacha Baron Cohen does his best to upset unsuspecting victims with his extreme homosexual antics.
-----Sacha Baron Cohen can stay in character, I’ll give him that. However, as far as his newest role goes, he is so blatantly playing for over the top laughs, that most of the film is stupid on a ‘Dance Flick’ level. His whole purpose is to make a satire on American reactions to homosexuals, and the only inspired laughs from the film come from the real reactions of cliché American stereotypes and his ability to induce bizarre responses from the people on camera. However, anyone who calls Cohen’s ‘Bruno’ a biting and clever satire is kidding themselves. Pointing out stereotypes is funny for about five minutes and the rest of what you’re forced to watch is downright mind numbing. I honestly felt my IQ consistently dropping throughout the film. Imagine an episode of ‘Punk’d,’ but with less humor, Ashton Kutcher wearing a thong (or less) around, and the only payoff being male nudity, and you’ve got ‘Bruno.’
-----For the many critics who frequently slam comedies for trying to be funny simply by surprise factor, I am absolutely flabbergasted (yes, flabbergasted) that you consider ‘Bruno’ clever. The film is obviously just trying to offend nearly everyone, while attempting to be funny by surprising you. Instead, what you get is a film that is so utterly and pathetically thick that you will only be offended that you had to pay to see it. The over the top surprise gimmicks are never very surprising for anyone who knows what they’re going to see, and I found myself neither offended nor shocked by the material; and ultimately not entertained by it either. Am I really supposed to think it’s funny that Cohen is willing to have his unmentionables flop around the screen for two minutes? It certainly shouldn’t entertain anyone over the age of nine, which is worthless because any nine year olds mom would have a heart attack if they knew their kid was watching this. Of course, perhaps if your IQ is low enough, or you have enough alcohol in you, you may find this funny. One thing for sure, any form of intelligent life will only wonder why this movie was made, and why anyone would want t go see it.
-----Technically the film had very little to do, seeing as it’s filmed with documentary style equipment, and even utilizes hidden cameras at times. The music is just as typically outrageous as the whole film which practically screams, “Look at me, no normal person would do this, and I’m pissing people off, aren’t I funny?” Honestly, you can’t even lightheartedly enjoy the film for entertainment, because it tries so hard to offend you, and eventually it just makes you angry out how amazingly dense it is. I pity anyone who calls action movies brainless and then praises ‘Bruno’ for being a witty satire. If you want to go there, then ‘Taken’ deserves an Academy Award for its brilliant critique on father-daughter relationships in our modern society.
-----To adequately sum up the film, I will call upon a line from the movie itself. After seeing one of Bruno’s interview sessions to sell his TV show, one of the men screening it said something along the lines of, “I wanted to stab my eyes out with hot needles.” I mirror these sentiments. I even felt the urge to leave at one point, though I don’t remember why, just that for some reason I felt like I really could leave right then and there. And while I was only angry that I had to sit through the whole mess, many will be offended by Cohen’s antics which fail to entertain anyone who doesn’t find every absurd thing he does hilarious. Just as we look down on the Romans for watching Gladiator fights for cheap entertainment, thousands of years from now our society will surely be criticized for humoring such primitive and unfunny forms of cheap entertainment. How stupid have we become hat a film like ‘Bruno’ can get anywhere past pre-production? Not to mention many who may find themselves unsuspectingly taken to this film by a friend, and will surely be offended at some of the outrageous cheap shots taken at their values. I was shocked to find the person sitting next to me was roaring with laughter nearly the whole time. She truly thought it was hilarious just because it was ridiculous and over the top…I didn’t understand. What was funny about stupid gimmicks and gross out gags? This shows just how awesomely clever and hilarious comedies like ‘The Hangover’ are, and just how hard they are to come by anymore.
-----Ultimately, I laughed just hard enough on rare occasion to earn this film its one star, but the majority of the ‘Bruno’ is insultingly horrific in how amazingly bad it is. It would have been a lot funnier as a mock-trailer before ‘Tropic Thunder,’ but as a feature film it’s an appalling and dim attempt and humor. So epic is its failure that it has earned a title as one of the year’s worst films. As for anyone who likes this film, I don’t know what to say…. I suppose if you think hearing the same joke over and over again, like Bruno mispronouncing “va-guy-na” with an Austrian accent, then…go for it, have fun, you are beyond my help.
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