Review of Brüno (2009) by Harry W — 31 Dec 2013

I've had to see Bruno 4 times to fully grasp what it was all about. The first three times I constantly thought it was just a weird film, and this time I finally realised it was actually a reality film with Sacha Baron Cohen playing the titular character to expose, amongst other things, the carelessness asks intolerance of American citizens in a hilarious way.

In Sacha Baron Cohen's infinitely hilarious wisdom, he risks his life to trick the world in Bruno and although it's not as funny as Borat it is definitely more offensive, in a good way. It's so funny and so offensive that people gave him death threats for his references to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade terrorist group, and that just makes it an even more effective spectacle. Sacha Baron Coen is at full force in Bruno, and it's an unforgettable mockumentary masterpiece which will shock you and make you laugh.

The shocks for me use to come solely from the scene in which a large penis shook on screen as I was young and hadn't grasped the concept of male nudity on film. Now the shocks came from such elements as seeing parents being so careless that they would exploit their children's lives at a serious risk for 5 minutes of fame, from seeing former reality TV star Brittny Gastineau actually proudly boasting that Jamie Lynn Spears should abort her child because it doesn't look appealing, and strongest of all from seeing just how much so many Americans just hate homosexuals. Bruno isn't a ploy for tolerance of homosexuals since it uses Bruno Gehard who is the most hardcore gay stereotype since Liberachi as it's protagonist, but instead it proves just how much the United States of America has a disdain for homosexuals in an aggressive and violent manner which is sickening. Bruno exposes the horrible world, and does it hilariously which is quite an incredible feat for Sacha Baron Coen to achieve. He even capitalises on ridiculous Austrian stereotypes by using Austrian humour such as referring to Brad Pitt as Bradolph Pittler and Mel Gibson as der Fuhrer is a hilarious momentous joke.

The celebrity satire also is hilariously true, such as is when Bruno looks to Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Kevin Spacey for heterosexual guidance or any of Bruno's attempts to get famous by mimicking some of the dumbest claims to fame ever.

But what Bruno Really nails is countering the stereotypical heterosexual behaviour made as part of the ridiculous treatment intended to convert Bruno himself from a homosexual to a heterosexual. Some people define activities such as Military Training, Hunting and Martial Arts to be the behaviour of a real man, while Bruno sees it as a chance to be surrounded by athletic and attractive men working out, a chance to camp away from civilisation from several men and best of all an opportunity to attack a martial artist with two dildos and a strap on only to get pinned by him, respectively.

Bruno just spearheads the stereotypes and tricks the world, and at the same time it offends the world and makes people laugh. No matter what it does, Bruno has the best and funniest intentions at heart, and if you can get over the hardcore sexuality of the humour, then you will easily find yourself laughing at the stupidity of intolerance and carelessness in society. Bruno is no Borat, but it is indeed excellent.