Bruno

Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten, Clifford Banagale, Bono (cameo), Elton John (cameo), Snoop Dogg (cameo), Sting (cameo)
Directed by: Larry Charles
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
2009

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Bruno (Sacha Baron Cohen) is a gay Austrin fashionista who decides to come to America, but struggles with trying to find fame in the United States.

Review:

Tim: I hope this movie marks the end of Sacha Baron Cohen trying to make movies like this. Borat was surprisingly good, because it mixed humor and awkwardness well, throwing in naviety which made the whole thing tolerable. That is not the case here. Bruno is a much more meanspirited movie, and not nearly as funny. It is actually painful to watch and is just downright stupid. I hated this movie and could hardly get through it at all.

The biggest problem with this movie is that it isn't funny. There are a few good moments, but most of the movie is a cheap rip off of Borat. The stunts here aren't nearly as funny. This movie just felt much more scripted and fake than Borat. They were probably much more similar than anyone would guess, but they came across completely differently. This entire film felt redundant and stupid. It was pointless, boring, and oftentimes awful. In short, this was a complete disaster.

As I mentioned, there are a few good moments. These mostly come when Cohen puts himself in dangerous, awkward situations for a laugh. The craziest moment has to be when he tells a real-life terrorist that Osama bin Laden looks like a "dirty wizard." These are the moments that occur too infrequently here- when Cohen risks it all to make us laugh. Most of the rest of the movie consists of exploiting his gayness and people's reluctance and hatred of homosexuality for a laugh or a cringe. The problem is that many of the situatons don't hit their mark. The low point of the film has to be when Cohen tries to seduce Ron Paul in a hotel room. We're supposed to believe his reaction of disgust is because he hates gays- when any normal person would react in a similar way if they were put into such an awkward, obnoxious situation. This represents of the many failures of this movie. This just simply isn't a good movie.

After the surprising success and quality of Borat, I was interested to see if Cohen could make lightning strike twice. He can't. This movie is so over-the-top, stupid, ridiculous, and disgusting, that there is no reason at all to watch this movie. I am not the kind of person to immediately be turned off by filth (as I mentioned, I really liked Borat), but this is just too much. I hated Bruno, and I think Cohen needs to go back to the drawing board.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 2



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Borat