Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Bruno

"Bruno" is a very funny movie, superior to at least 90 percent of Hollywood's new releases. It features great acting, ridiculous costumes, social commentary, and plenty of penis jokes.

But "Bruno" is not as good as "Borat," Sacha Baron Cohen's previous incendiary travelogue. The problem is this: Cohen's conceit is to use his characters--a clueless Kazakh in "Borat," an extremely gay TV host in "Bruno"--to say and do outrageous things, then have ordinary people go along with them to reveal their small-mindedness and bigotry.

But in "Bruno," Cohen rachets up the shock value, which often makes his victims' outraged reactions seem reasonable. When Bruno gets Paula Abdul to sit on a Mexican because he has no furniture, it's queasily funny, especially as she talks about helping the less fortunate. But when she is horrified to be offered hors d'oeuvers served on a naked man's body, you can only sympathize with her--the last thing Cohen wants.

Only briefly does Cohen tap into the serious homophobia that plagues much of our nation. One such segment is his interview with a pastor who claims to convert homosexuals. It's not the funniest part of the film, but it's easily the most socially important.

To be fair, Cohen is also skewering other targets, most notably our celebrity-obsessed culture. Posing as a photo shoot coordinator, Bruno gets parents to agree to have their small children operate heavy machinery, be exposed to lead phosphorus and lose 10 pounds in a week. And "Bruno" has plenty of moments which are funny for their own sake, such as when a charity PR consultant urges him to help with the situation in "Derfar."

Also not to be overlooked are Cohen's tremendous acting abilities. Most actors can have dozens of takes to get their lines right. Cohen has only one shot--and he doesn't know how his victims will respond to his antics.

It should also be noted that "Bruno" doesn't have as much narrative coherence as "Borat." Granted, the latter film had a thin wisp of a plot: Borat traveled across the country to meet Pamela Anderson. But "Bruno" feels even more haphazard: the titular character is merely trying to get famous, which allows Cohen to basically do whatever he wants.

This may seem like a small quibble; plot is certainly not why we watch these films. But it's indicative of a larger problem, a lack of overarching satirical vision which prevents "Bruno" from becoming a classic.

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