Bruno (2009)

Directed by: Larry Charles
Written by: Sacha Baron Cohen/Anthony Hines/Dan Mazer/Jeff Schafer/Peter Baynham
Based on character created by: Sacha Baron Cohen

Bruno ist da!

Aber first, some previewsteins!

FUNNY PEOPLE–Judd Apatow. Those two words mean that I’m there. But add Adam Sandler in a REAL role and not just some cardboard cutout “Adam Sandler” role and I’m double there. It looks like he and Seth Rogen play really well off of each other and I can’t wait to see it. “Were you sad that you died at the end of Die Hard?”

HALLOWEEN II–While I liked Rob Zombie’s first take on the classic slasher flick and am ready for a second, I’m not sure I understand something here. Dr. Loomis is dead. He was killed by Michael Myers in the first movie. (Something the original couldn’t seem to do.) So why, besides Malcolm McDowell’s coolness, is he in the preview talking about how Michael Myers is dead?!

Whatever. I’m there. Sigh.

TAKING WOODSTOCK–This movie kind of got snored at on the festival circuit, but I like the trailer and I’m a sucker for 60′s coming of age films. Plus it’s Ang Lee! It’s the “true” story of how Woodstock came together. I don’t know how much truth there is in it, but I don’t really care. It looks pretty good. I’m for it.

GAMER–I really wish Hollywood would stop trying to make Gerard Butler an action star. The man has zero charisma, no charm and is a pretty bland actor.

Well, maybe action is all he can do. I stand corrected. Remember when action stars needed charisma?

Anyway, it’s an interesting premise. In the future, prisoners are thrown into wars while gamers control every move they make. If they survive 30 games, they get set free. But it looks like it’s been squandered in a cheesy movie. I’ll wait and see about this one. But it does have Michael C Hall in it, so that could be good. And is that a full-on musical number that I see him performing? What the hell?!

EXTRACT–Mike Judge directs another work place comedy. Will it do better than Idiocracy? That all depends on the studio, but it looks like they’re actually pushing this one a little bit. And it has Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman and Kristen Wiig, so the funny will be flying. I’ll be there for Mike and Jason.

COUPLES RETREAT–Speaking of Bateman, he also stars in this movie about four couples who go on a retreat to try to get back in touch with their coupledom. Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Jean Reno, John Michael Higgins, Kristen Bell, Malin Akerman and Ken Jeong are also around, so I’m around, too.

SORORITY ROW–Another summer, another horror remake. But this one looks like it could be some gory fun, so I might check it out…at least on video. Plus Carrie Fisher’s in it as the sorority mom. And Rumer Willis? Really?

Damn. That’s a lot of previews. I think I’m done, though. On to the movie film.

So, who’s this Bruno, then? And why are his pants going up his ass crack?

Bruno (Sacha Baron Cohen) is an Austrian fashion tv show host who is Austria’s second biggest star ever. But when he goes to a fashion show in a Velcro suit, his time is over.

But Bruno does not want to be out. He wants to be IN! He wants to be the biggest star in the world. Where better to do that than America where anyone can be a star?

He tries multiple schemes, but they all seem to fail. At one point he realizes why: he’s gay.

No shit. Really? Bruno’s gay?

Anyway, Bruno and his assistant’s assistant (Gustaf Hammarsten) go on a trek to make Bruno a star. Along the way, they meet all kinds of intolerant people who think that being gay is an affliction.

At first, I thought that this movie was really going to skewer the fashion industry. And, while that is absolutely a worthwhile goal (because the fashion industry has done more psychological harm to people than just about any other industry in the world), he actually focuses on homophobia more than anything else. He goes to the heart of Alabama to make Bruno not be gay anymore. He joins the military for a short stint. He goes camping with some rednecks. He joins a swingers club where you would think that people would be a bit more tolerant.

Just like Borat, Bruno shows us how people really feel. When confronted with this cartoon character of a gay man, all of their inhibitions and phobias show up. And it makes things funnier and funnier as they go on.

I read something about how Bruno is too much of a cartoon character to actually be exposing homophobia and the movie actually becomes homophobic itself. I can kind of understand where they’re coming from, but I don’t totally agree. If you had a normal gay man doing some of the things that Bruno was doing, you wouldn’t have the reaction that Bruno got. Yes, you might have a more intellectual discourse about homosexuals in the National Guard or trying to switch sexualities. But you wouldn’t have the gut reaction that Bruno gets out of people. In the Man Slammin’ scene (which is a pretty brilliant indictment of the wrestling world), people are actually crying. Would they have done that if it had been Elton John and his partner in the cage? No. They would have just gotten up and walked out, maybe booing a bit. Instead, they stayed for the spectacle, crying, screaming and throwing things. Some of the guys even stood there watching not sure how they were feeling.

And that’s what this whole movie boils down to. How DO we feel about gay people? We’re all fine with them entertaining us, sure. I mean, Will And Grace was one of the most popular tv shows on the air when it was in production. But as soon as the general population starts to think about what Will and Jack did with the guys they brought home, things start to change. Suddenly, they’re not so entertaining. Suddenly, they’re an “abomination.”

Bruno is not a “normal” gay man. He is an exaggeration of what people think gay men are. Sacha Baron Cohen used him to bring out the worst in people. And he succeeded. Sure, Ron Paul had a pretty normal reaction to someone trying to come on to him in a hotel room (certainly the most embarrassing scene in the entire film), but does that make him less homophobic?

Ok. Bad example. That scene was a little out of line, honestly. If a woman had done that to him, he probably would have bolted, too. At least, I hope he would have.

Anyway, enough soapboxing. If you have a sick sense of humor and aren’t easily offended, go see this movie. It’s kind of amazing in its own weird way.

And, honestly, I probably would have given his show that he’s pushing a good review just to see if they networks would make it. Sure, it’s terrible. But it would have been amazing if they had gone ahead with it.

Watch for the last song, too. It’s such a perfect way to end the movie and it makes me love everyone involved even more.