Bruno is a movie that needs little introduction. Sacha Baron Cohen plays Bruno, a gay Austrian fashion reporter who has his own fashion TV show. When he makes a fool out himself at fashion show he finds himself shut out of the European fashion scene and decides to head to LA to become a celebrity and is accompanied by his straight acting gay assistant. Once in the US Bruno gets into one hilarious situation after another in his quest to become a celebrity. He interviews celebrities, stage parents, Christians, terrorists and shows up at a number of different places in the Deep South confronting homophobic rednecks with his camp antics. Pound for pound I found Bruno funnier than Borat because there were hardly any flat spots in it for me. I laughed throughout the entire film (as did the rest of the audience) and absolutely roared with laughter in a number of scenes.  Anyone who liked the Ali G Show and Borat is going to love Bruno.

EDIT: I should point out that at some stages during the film I felt like some of Cohen's targets were actually in on the joke and it seems Cohen has probably relied on existing prejudices in his audience to prevent them from being critical and to just accept that what they’re seeing is real. This is ironic because most of the people in the film were supposedly being “set up” to look like narrow minded fools.

This was posted in the "Moon" review thread, and I'm sure it probably applies here:

Quoted from Moon review thread mod note: Great review James. Everyone else, please don't post an announcement of your intent to go watch the movie.

I just don't understand the allure of this kind of garbage.  Who wants to watch some dude act gay, wear gay clothes, talk gay, and say stupid shit?  I just don't get it.

It's not the character we like, it's the situation. It's funny to see this guy saying and doing outrageous things to people, and it's funny cuz it's all real, and the other person thinks this is a real person and now just a character. I agree, it wouldn't be at all funny if it were staged.

I don't like any of his stuff, that I'm aware of.  I couldn't watch Borat.  I do dislike gay comedy stuff like this intensely though, so maybe it's a bit of both.

Quoted from Dreamscale I just don't understand the allure of this kind of garbage.  Who wants to watch some dude act gay, wear gay clothes, talk gay, and say stupid shit?  I just don't get it.

like some people have said, it's the situation, and my favorite is how they react to the awkward stuff.  I mean the Bruno part where he goes "You may find this very hard to believe but im gay" then "ok" then the guy looks around, very awkward moment, very funny

Quoted from Takeshi EDIT: I should point out that at some stages during the film I felt like some of Cohen's targets were actually in on the joke and it seems Cohen has probably relied on existing prejudices in his audience to prevent them from being critical and to just accept that what they’re seeing is real. This is ironic because most of the people in the film were supposedly being “set up” to look like narrow minded fools.

People love 'Reality TV' too.  Don't ever believe anything put on film is totally unscripted.  Bruno holds no interest for me.

I had almost no interest in seeing "Bruno".  I thought "Borat" was very hit or miss, and from the advertising, this character didn't appear to be all that funny.

I can say, however, that this film is hilarious.  I also had my reservations because I thought the film would act as a disservice to the gay community, but Cohen plays such a cartoony/outlandish character, I just don't see how that's possible.

"Bruno" not only stands to be a critique at how we perceive gay men in society (a small part of the film; I don't want to give him too much credit for that), but it's also a scathing satire on the world of celebrity.  I don't want to spoil it for those interested, but the most shocking (and sadly hilarious) part in the film has nothing to do with the whole "gay thing" (as some would say) but with a faux baby photo shoot Bruno sets up.  

I unfortunately saw this with a crowd that only laughed at the most grotesque humor and failed to catch anything remotely subtle.  The crowd was made up of the same kind of people Cohen was mocking, and they just flat out didn't get it.  You know, the kind of people who use the word "fag" and "gay" as synonyms for just about everything.

All in all, an enjoyable night at the movies.  The wife liked it too.

And with all that being said, I really think this review portion of the site should be for those who have actually seen the film.  I saw it to formulate my own opinion, and found that my initial ideas about the film were wrong, so it's probably best to not comment on it until you see it yourself.

Quoted from Dreamscale I just don't understand the allure of this kind of garbage.  Who wants to watch some dude act gay, wear gay clothes, talk gay, and say stupid shit?  I just don't get it.

I hate the Hollywood play on the gay stereotype. I hate the whole "gay pride" junk. I mean, there are no "straight pride" parades.

Having said that, I have nothing against anyone who is actually gay, meaning they prefer the same sex for sex and they probably too have the opposite gender strongly affixed inside their personality. I always say, "Do what you are comfortable with and makes you happy." and "No one should judge."

The thing that bothers me about the hype of this movie is that they're using the whole gay stereotype to promote it. The first time I've heard of this guy, was, actually, yesterday when I decided to open a newspaper, just to live on the wild side. I know, I must be living in some cave somewhere. But the first thing I thought was: This looks stupid. No thanks.

No doubt the movie must be getting some laughs as the post above informs us, but it's a turn off when they rely on this kind of thing to generate interest. To me it's like mocking people.

I knew a guy once, he looked like the complete gay stereotype . I never did ask though. Actually, I don't think he was, but he sure did have the mannerisms and they weren't for fun. He was a really nice guy that you simply had to love.

Anyways: Who is this Bruno guy and what is his claim to fame?

Sandra

Quoted from Sandra Elstree. I hate the Hollywood play on the gay stereotype. I hate the whole "gay pride" junk. I mean, there are no "straight pride" parades.

It's a sort of validation. If not to others, certainly to their own minds. Let me convince myself this choice is right/normal...

Sacha who created 'bruno' also created 'borat' and the longer though lesser known, 'ali g'. He's a jewish comedian from England who loves to provoke...

This movie made me throw up in my mouth.... TWICE!!! Besides that unpleasant experience I really enjoyed it. I laughed nonstop, and so did the rest of the audience. Borat is extremely tame compared to this film.

~Zack~

Quoted from JamminGirl It's a sort of validation. If not to others, certainly to their own minds. Let me convince myself this choice is right/normal... Sacha who created 'bruno' also created 'borat' and the longer though lesser known, 'ali g'. He's a jewish comedian from England who loves to provoke...

Thanks. I had only heard of him from scanning a newspaper column and in the same newspaper I saw  a full page ad for the movie. I gathered that he was controversial.

Eventually, I'm sure I will see the movie when it's on DVD and then I can comment on the movie itself. However, I do think that people should be able to comment on the marketing and stereotype aspects that they are using to market it.

Sacha is obviously smart enough to have branded himself in a way that he can draw attention and create laughs. I base that, not on having seen the movie, but by the comments of people in this thread who have seen it.

Just calm down everyone. No need for parades or oppression. Keep the bedroom stuff in the bedroom, or in the kitchen if you prefer.  ;D Or on the beach... Is that acceptable? Hey Jordon!!!! How's Wreck beach doin'?  ;D

Since I haven't seen this and won't for awhile. Tell me, what is it that inspires you about this film? Tell me about the moment/s the audience laughed real hard. Do you feel that this film would be a success without Sacha?

Sandra

Quoted from Sandra Elstree. I hate the Hollywood play on the gay stereotype. I hate the whole "gay pride" junk. I mean, there are no "straight pride" parades.

The gay pride parades have nothing to do with validation.  They are merely there to slap the straight community into recognizing that gay people exist.  They were especially meaningful when the outrageousness they produce was actually outrageous.  When the cops where beating up gay people and locking them away in jails while they were coming out of clubs, straight society needed that slap back.  Today, they are more tradition than anything else but it still seems that it gets some peoples goat - so maybe they do still serve a function. See a movie called The Naked Civil Servant - which is the Autobiography of Quentin Crisp and you will understand the mentality and the need for it.

I thought this was okay. I can't say I was disappointed but that's only because I wasn't expecting much. This movie was only made because Borat was a massive success. Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems with Bruno was that it tried to be too much like Borat. The whole format of the movie (going around interviewing people, playing pranks, etc.) fits Borat's character way better than it does Bruno. Bruno never did that kinda stuff on the show. Not to mention so much more of this one felt blatantly staged. The Harrison Ford interview was classic and the ending was epic and hilarious but stuff like the baby interviews and talk show were too obviously fake to really be enjoyed.

I also never liked the character of Bruno. The gay European stereotype has been done sooo many times before and Cohen doesn't really do much more of it than make it even more graphic. Although most of it wasn't that funny, just really fucked up. I was surprised it didn't get an NC-17 for some of this stuff. I thought him showing his TV show to the producers was hilarious but that was really the same as showing your friends 2 Girls 1 Cup. It's the reactions that were funny, not the content itself. Aside from the full frontal and vacuum cleaner stuff, most of the gay jokes were the same as any you'd hear out of Kevin Smith or Adam Sandler movies. Some of the gags were funny but most just seemed way better suited for Borat, except for the scenes with the terrorists and country leaders which were golden. In the end though, nothing felt consistent. The movie just got lucky with some of the jokes.

So except for the really graphic stuff, nothing groundbreaking.

The best part was when he pitched his TV show to the production company. The hardcore techno mixed with the talking **** I thought was genius. I like his TV series but I don't think any of the films he's done are very good.

I saw it. In some parts it is hilarious but in others completely hit and miss. It's a little better than "Just alright". The difference between Borat and Bruno is that Borat is innocent and hilarious things just happen while he's present, Bruno on the other hand is a freakin jerk. For about the first 20 minutes it's incredibly unfunny. I though I was in for a baaad film. Then around the 25 minute mark it gets better. There were a few extremely hilarious laugh out loud moments. Others I didn't laugh at that much. I wanna say it's better than Borat but it's not. It was disappointing just a little bit.

6.5 out of 10, despite all those hilarious moments, if your film doesn't get a laugh out of someone for the first 25 minutes, it doesn't deserve higher than a 7.

This movie had 2 brilliant scenes, one in which parents audition their children for a photo shoot and another involving a talk show, they were both very funny but also very sad, I hope someone from child services watches this film and gets those kids away from their parents, who on Christ's green earth would allow their 2 year old to get liposuction or dress as a nazi, some sick stuff.  Other than that it got old pretty fast, the same gag over and over, but those 2 moments are worth a view on its own.  Not in the same league as Borat in any way shape or form, or even sweeny todd, but it does have two potent and very funny scenes that are worth a gander.

Quoted from The boy who could fly I hope someone from child services watches this film and gets those kids away from their parents, who on Christ's green earth would allow their 2 year old to get liposuction or dress as a nazi, some sick stuff.

He's about as authentic as Operation Repo... Scripted theatrics like the initial moon landing. Hollywood can polish a penny so much you'd swear it was a quarter. Borat, Bruno are works...  

And to answer the question you posed... Well, his whole gimmick is based in the roots of your question. Who would allow such a thing. Who would do such a thing? Well, people... People are strange and often ignorant beings. Just ask the creator of the two characters in question here... Though, since he's being outlandish and ZANY people forget he's a product created not of himself but the people around him and who sign his checks.

You can pluck a shit dipped Ethiopian from the dust bowl where he lives... Give him 100 million dollars, shave his head bald, slap a new name on him, give him vocal lessons, put him through some speech therapy and write a bunch of music for his ass then market him to the public as the next big thing and you'd be surprised how many idiots would buy into it.

(what is that offensive?... Well, isn't Bruno? Oh, that's right he gets paid for it... It's not offensive when you get paid for it. It's witty, intelligent and ZANY!!)

This guy isn't funny. He isn't clever. He is a product... Like soap and crack.

^^ Lol, that's the first time I've ever seen SBC compared to crack.

But on another note, I really enjoyed this film. I've been a huge fan of SBC for as long as I can remember - I hardly understood most of the humour when I started watching The Ali G Show with my brother but I still loved it - so I knew what to expect. And I wasn't disappointed.

In response to the movie being "scripted" or "fake":

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07052009/entertainment/movies/dubper_freak_177640.htm

Simply put, if you like The Ali G Show then you'll like the movie. I personally love the show and gave the movie a B- overall. SBC is one of the quickest and wittiest personalities on television/hollywood today. Borat was a stroke of a genius and the movie did not disappoint. Unfortunately, Bruno was not as a good. Out of his three characters, Bruno is the weakest - although the character is still pretty funny. On the show, he does a terrific job of exploiting both homophobia in America and the stupidity in the fashion world. My biggest complaint with Bruno is that a third of the film was staged. So for that alone, it gets docked a grade.

My mouth was wide open throughout the entire film and that's really hard for a film to do to me these days. The interview with the terrorist, pastor, and Harrison Ford were all hilarious.