As a result of the popularity of Brüno (and the fact that a lot of Hearwax staff saw the movie and wanted to review it), we have decided to do a group review. The format is similar to our Weekly Worship, only we are all doing a quick summary of the same film.
Alec Says:
Sacha Baron Cohen has unleashed his sort-of-sequel to Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan, wherein he plays the titular Brüno. As a comedy, it is a top tier performance, where a fearless yet never alluding character undergoes various stunning slapstick routines and fourth wall transcending exchanges. The physical humour is understandably crude, even appalling, but never does the film miss these opportunities to unearth various cultural stigmas and dogmas. A concern I had would be that this film would rehash the reliable critique of Western Society’s toxic soup of values, yet this is remarkably fresh; while the central examination of sexuality and masculinity calls the ignorant redneck archetype to the stand, this film is obsessed with the overwhelming wave of hyper liberalism that has swept this continent since last year. The film’s tag line is “Borat Was So 2006″, and this is true in more ways than one. Borat was an obvious yet charming surgery into the values of a Bush run nation, where here in Brüno, the fashionable overabundance of progressive conservatism so complimenting the current administration allows for more nuance and gravity this time around. As the sophomore film from Cohen’s trio of misplaced hot button archetypes (from his ground shattering Da Ali G Show) this proves he and his team are cultural construction workers, eager to tear up the foundations and burst a watermain while they are at it.
(7.5/10)
Logan Says:
When Borat came out in 2006, I felt that I was the only person in the world that didn’t think it was all that. Sure, it was funny, but it didn’t live up to the massive amount of hype that it received (maybe it is my fault for not seeing it on day one). To make sure that didn’t happen again, I saw Brüno opening day; hype or no hype, this is not only the funniest and most extreme comedy of the year, but it trumps Borat in every fashion (hehe). Anyone who thought Mr. Cohen couldn’t get any racier, obscene or crude needs to see this. And what’s that? An underlying message beneath the Hitler jokes? While I don’t want to potentially ruin another contributor’s thunder, I will say that the theme and messages that are present are the complete opposite of Borat, and thus the film not only succeeds on a comic level, but an entirely different level as well.
(8.0/10)
Sean Says:
Brüno is the next adventure in the world of Sasha Baron Cohen and one which heavily mimics the dynamic of its predecessor Borat. The movie establishes itself as a string of skits, webbed together by the overall plot line of Bruno attempting to get famous. The movie at times was highly hilarious while at others felt as if the humor had been kind of forced. Overall, I found the movie to be highly enjoyable, however more Brüno the character, not Brüno the movie. In many ways the once appealing quirkiness and craft of the first movie felt dubbed and overused in this second film. Despite all this, I would like to conclude by stating that I found the rotating penis scene to be very very funny.
(6.8/10)
Vuk Says:
From talking genitalia, to public displays of affection between allegedly gay men at a cage fighting display, Sacha Baron Cohen never fails to surprise his audience, and 2009’s Brüno is perhaps the best instance of that yet.
It was quite apparent from the trailer that the movie would be considerably crude, and such behavior is already expected of Cohen, after all. However, if you thought Borat and Ali G were offensive, Brüno is on a whole other level, especially in its overt sexuality and nudity. While Borat included a few scenes of nudity and suggestively homosexual acts between characters, Brüno contains displays of up-close, swinging genitalia, attempts at seducing presidential candidate Ron Paul by the protagonist, participation in a swinger’s party (basically, an orgy), extremely strange scenes of supposed homoerotic acts between the main character and his partner in the movie, and many, many more. The movie also makes a mockery out of several American celebrities, referring to Mel Gibson as “the Führer” because of his past anti-Semitic acts.
As a film it is similarly constructed as his other movies were, in that it contains segments of interviews throughout, tied together by the storyline. Though Borat and Brüno come close in terms of quality, Brüno seems the better film in the end, as it seems less staged than Borat was and contains much better quality interviews, thus improving the film from a comical perspective. However, it may not appeal to all viewers, in the sense that, unlike Borat, it presented situations depicting homosexual behavior, which is much less accepted in most societies than racism, so one’s initial reactions may be repulsion.
Despite the lengths it goes to show it, like all of Cohen’s movies, Brüno is a relatively smart comedy, emphasizing society’s obsession with fame and stardom, and its apparent homophobic tendencies. It takes a much more interesting approach in proving its point than any of Cohen’s past films, so the only question that remains, is who will he be next?
(8.3/10)
OVERALL RATING
(7.7/10)
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