'Bruno' review

‘Bruno’;

the spiritual sequel to ‘Borat’, seems to take the ideas used in Cohen’s original mock-umentary-esque comedy and ramp them up to eleven on the shock scale. This means at times the film seems less like a conventional cinematic experience and more of an experiment in shock and how far Cohen can push his audiences and his ‘victims’ in creating comedic situations. I mean, I enjoy shocking comedy as much as the next filthy teenager but there were moments in this film where I had to self censor and also self censor the desire to be violently sick. It really is that extreme that it makes the naked tussle between Borat and his manager in ‘Borat’ seem like an innocent kiss stolen by Zac ‘BOLTON’ Efron in ‘High School Musical’.

It is because of this unrelenting shock that I find it difficult to review ‘Bruno’ as a traditional film as, I am sure Cohen would agree, it is anything but, starting with the writing team accredited which confused me no end. The film has four writers. A film that is, essentially, a sequence of gross out sequences and only runs a little under two hours has four writers. This lends itself to help suggest the true successful quality of the film lies not in the writing, the camera work, the production team, but in Cohen himself and his ability to create over the top and ridiculous yet engaging characters that serve to shock and, amazingly, generate emotion within his viewers. One moment that stood out to me, as a lover of cinema and the magic it can craft, follows a scene in which Bruno and his assistant Lutz are chained together in an S ‘n’ M gay outfit walking around Alabama, in one of the less subtle moments of exposing America’s seeming latent homophobia but a scene that generates many laughs none the less. Anyway, following the ridiculousness of the previous scene Cohen provides us with an exchange between Lutz and Bruno that genuinely served to stir emotion within me as Lutz confesses his love for the Austrian model as he proceeds to spurn his assistant in a moment that conveys his egomania;
‘I am Bruno! BRUNO! I don’t need you! I don't need anyone!’
(Para phrased. Maybe I should take a notebook into the cinema with me.)

It is moments of genius like these that hearken back to the brilliance of ‘Borat’ but if Cohen is attempting to mock and highlight the homophobia of America with this film I’m not sure he can be said to have succeeded. The extreme stereotype presented here isn’t immediately mocked and ridiculed by the people he associates with, this only comes following extreme behaviour on the eponymous character’s part that would surely elicit such a response from most people. For example he is somewhat accepted initially by the terrifying Southern Hunters, even Donny with the intense murdering stare, and it is only when he continues to open their tents at about three o’ clock in the morning completely naked that the gay barbs begin to be thrown about and he is forcibly ejected.

But then if not for his extreme behaviour he wouldn’t elicit such HILARIOUS results from those around him and despite my critique of his unsubtle latent homophobia, I can appreciate that this may just be seen as an over the top and extreme comedy and on that part I really cannot complain as I was forcibly laughing throughout, from the unconventional and inventive sex between Bruno and his midget boyfriend to the distraught fat American breaking down at the side of the ring at the conclusion of the film (Which I won’t spoil here). ‘Bruno’ was funny. Very funny, in fact, hence my awarding it Three out of five stars and urging you, any potential readers to go and see the film yourself to see if you agree with my critical view or whether you think it is indeed the equal or, superior (?) to ‘Borat’.