Bruno (2009)

Sacha Baron Cohen returns in Bruno to once again wreak havoc on small-minded Americans, and (as usual) my brethren in the South come out looking particularly bad. Then again, who doesn’t end up looking like a fool when confronted by Bruno, a flamboyantly gay fashion reporter from Austria who makes Richard Simmons seem like Mickey Rourke? Not only does Cohen allow others to open up about their prejudices toward the homosexual community, but he also skewers with great relish those obsessed with becoming a celebrity at any cost.

Bruno opens with the film’s hero serving as a reporter during Fashion Week in Milan. This leads to disgrace and unemployment when he chooses to wear an all-Velcro suit to the event, and the resulting chaos has him sticking to everything in sight. Undaunted, he resolves to head to Los Angeles and become a celebrity, and he’s joined in his quest by Lutz (Gustaf Hammarsten), an assistant who’s more than a little enamored with the Austrian clothes horse.

The gags come hot and heavy, and the lean running time of 82 minutes guarantees that you’ll never be bored. The film was originally three minutes longer, but a bit featuring La Toya Jackson was removed due to the unexpected passing of her brother. I guess even Mr. Cohen has limits to how far he’ll go.

Bigots and hardcore Christians should be careful to avoid this movie, as it will do nothing but confuse and irritate them. The rest of us, however, should have a grand old time watching Bruno run amok in scenes both staged and all-too-real. Where else can you see 30 seconds of Cohen’s penis or watch politician Ron Paul driven to the point of shouting “queer”?

In scene after scene, Cohen and director Larry Charles (Borat, Religulous) allow their subjects to vent their inner prejudices by forcing them into the most uncomfortable of situations. Be they karate instructors, hunters, or swingers, no one is spared from the film’s sharp sense of satire.

A sub-plot which runs through the film is Bruno’s interaction with his assistant and admirer, Lutz. The two gay men inevitably hook up (with deliciously deranged results), before suffering a falling out and going their separate ways. The relationship gives the film some necessary underpinning, and it also sets up the duo’s inevitable reconciliation, which happens to come in the middle of an advertised cage-fighting event. The crowd thought they were getting blood and free beer. Instead, they’re treated to two grown men stripping and making out. Judging by the beverages and chairs being hurled, I don’t think Bruno has a future in mixed-martial-arts.

While it’s great fun watching Bruno make homophobes uncomfortable with his in-your-face behavior, the film’s greatest venom seems reserved for those who desperately seek to stand in the spotlight. Whether they’re mothers trying to get their children into show business or terrorist leaders looking for a platform with which to spread their hatred, Bruno savages them simply by allowing his subjects to demonstrate their utter ignorance and desperation. One mother, for example, admits that she would be willing to have her young child undergo liposuction in order to land a part. Another is willing to allow her flesh-and-blood to be dressed up like a Nazi who happens to be pushing Jews towards a crematorium. It’s hilarious, but it’s also downright disturbing. The terrorist, by the way, threatens to kill Bruno after the faux Austrian repeatedly insults his host and mentions that Osama bin Laden looks like a “dirty wizard.”

Bruno is such a stereotype that he occasionally grates on the nerves, but the film’s smart humor and short running time ultimately keeps that in check. If you like to see people led away from their comfort zone and confronted by an overtly gay man in outrageous attire, then Bruno is the film for you. My only real regret while watching the film was the realization that Cohen has officially exhausted all his characters from Da Ali G Show. I guess we’ll have to hope for Borat 2.