Reel Opinions


Saturday, July 11, 2009

Bruno

I think it's safe for anyone to assume after watching Bruno that comic actor Sacha Baron Cohen should probably try to find a new line of work after this movie. It's not that I don't think he's talented, or that I want him to stop making movies. I just can't imagine there are any more envelopes he can push, any more boundaries he can cross, or any more people he can try to offend. He covers all the bases here, and the end result is a movie you're probably not ready for. Despite what I had read or heard in advance, I know I wasn't. And that's what I loved about this movie.

I laughed a lot watching Bruno, even if I wasn't always proud of myself for doing so. But, that's the whole point. Cohen reunites with his Borat director, Larry Charles, and has created a comedy so raw, it made me question many times while watching it where the R-rating ends and where the NC-17 begins. The MPAA certainly doesn't seem to know. Despite what the description of the film's rating states, I don't think children should be allowed to watch this, even with an accompanying adult. Film critic Roger Ebert has for years stated that there should be an "Adult" rating, since studios seem to be completely opposed to labeling their films anything harder than an R for financial reasons. NC-17 is treated like a kiss of death in Hollywood, so they bend over backwards and sometimes argue with the rating board to get the lesser rating. This means that a relatively tame movie, such as Away We Go, shares the same rating as something like this. There needs to be a better system in order to separate the tamer adult movies (which would be R), from the harder films (which would be "Adult"). NC-17 isn't working, obviously, since no one wants to use it, so there has to be a rating that filmmakers are actually willing to implement.

Okay, time to get off my soapbox and talk about why the movie does work. Bruno himself is another creation of Cohen's from his days on The Ali G Show. He's a flamboyantly gay (putting it mildly) fashion expert from Austria, and host of a TV show devoted to what's hot and not in the fashion and celebrity world. The opening moments revolve around Bruno giving us a guided tour of his life. We see him on the job, we see him at home, and we see his sex life with his gay pygmy lover. Bruno's world is shattered when he has an unfortunate incident at a fashion show while wearing a suit made entirely out of Velcro. It's a great bit of slapstick comedy, and Cohen pulls it off so well, he makes it look effortless. Unfortunately, the incident makes Bruno out to be a laughing stock of the fashion world, and he is fired from his job, as well as losing everything he has, including the pygmy. Since he has been disgraced in his native land, Bruno decides to head to America in order to become a celebrity. He's accompanied by his assistant, Lutz (Gustaf Hammaresten), and an off camera film crew who document his journey for fame.

Much like Borat, the plot is just an excuse to hang a series of sequences where Cohen and the filmmakers can skewer American values and beliefs with a satirical knife, and then pour salt on the open wound. The movie is staged like a documentary, following Bruno and his attempts to be famous, and the reaction of the people around him to his outrageous antics. Some of the sequences are staged, but many are real, and are the result of just throwing this Bruno character into real world situations, with people who don't know who this person is or what the heck is going on. Victims in the movie include former Presidential candidate Ron Paul (who enters a hotel room with Bruno under the impression he is to be interviewed, only to discover that Bruno wishes to film a sex tape with him), Christian pastors who believe they can cure gays, rednecks, the military, Paula Abdul, and pretty much the entire state of Arkansas by the look of it. There are moments where you actually fear for Cohen's safety in some of the situations he puts his character in. An example is a subplot concerning Bruno obtaining an African baby (whom he names "O.J."), whom he purchased by swapping an iPod. He takes the baby and tells his story on a talk show which is staged, but the audience is not in on the joke. They think the show and Bruno's story is real, and their disgust and rage is genuine to the point that they're almost attacking the stage.

The fun of the movie is seeing just how far the filmmakers will go, and trying to figure out which sequences are real and which are staged. The movie's been set up so well, it's sometimes hard to tell. Bruno himself is a great comic character, and Cohen uses him well in every situation he puts the character in. He could have easily been a one-note character, but the movie fleshes him out to a certain degree. He's so desperate to be known in America, he's willing to do anything. As this movie shows, he's not alone. There's a shocking sequence where he interviews a series of parents about a possible photo shoot, and we get see how far the parents are willing to go to get their babies into the shoot, despite the fact that Bruno describes the content of the shoot. (It's to be a photo of a baby dressed as a Nazi pushing a wheelbarrow holding a Jewish baby into an oven.) The sequence was most likely edited for best effect, but I had a sinking feeling that it was all too real as I saw a mother willingly agreeing to the idea of letting her baby be liposuctioned in order to lose 10 pounds. The movie puts such a dark and twisted spin on the "15 minutes of fame" idea that you are all at once intrigued and appalled.

Bruno is shocking, yes, but it is also outrageously funny. There are many who will probably accuse the movie of going too far, and will probably hate it for the same reasons I loved it. The movie doesn't just shock, it exposes, and it generates discussion afterward. It also creates genuine laughs, which is the ultimate goal by which the movie should be judged. I may not be recommending this one to all of my friends, but I will definitely be remembering this one for a long time. Given most of this summer's forgettable fare, that's reason enough for praise.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

0 comments

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home

09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005
10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005
11/01/2005 - 12/01/2005
12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006
01/01/2006 - 02/01/2006
02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006
03/01/2006 - 04/01/2006
04/01/2006 - 05/01/2006
05/01/2006 - 06/01/2006
06/01/2006 - 07/01/2006
07/01/2006 - 08/01/2006
08/01/2006 - 09/01/2006
09/01/2006 - 10/01/2006
10/01/2006 - 11/01/2006
11/01/2006 - 12/01/2006
12/01/2006 - 01/01/2007
01/01/2007 - 02/01/2007
02/01/2007 - 03/01/2007
03/01/2007 - 04/01/2007
04/01/2007 - 05/01/2007
05/01/2007 - 06/01/2007
06/01/2007 - 07/01/2007
07/01/2007 - 08/01/2007
08/01/2007 - 09/01/2007
09/01/2007 - 10/01/2007
10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007
11/01/2007 - 12/01/2007
12/01/2007 - 01/01/2008
01/01/2008 - 02/01/2008
02/01/2008 - 03/01/2008
03/01/2008 - 04/01/2008
04/01/2008 - 05/01/2008
05/01/2008 - 06/01/2008
06/01/2008 - 07/01/2008
07/01/2008 - 08/01/2008
08/01/2008 - 09/01/2008
09/01/2008 - 10/01/2008
10/01/2008 - 11/01/2008
11/01/2008 - 12/01/2008
12/01/2008 - 01/01/2009
01/01/2009 - 02/01/2009
02/01/2009 - 03/01/2009
03/01/2009 - 04/01/2009
04/01/2009 - 05/01/2009
05/01/2009 - 06/01/2009
06/01/2009 - 07/01/2009
07/01/2009 - 08/01/2009
08/01/2009 - 09/01/2009
09/01/2009 - 10/01/2009
10/01/2009 - 11/01/2009
11/01/2009 - 12/01/2009
12/01/2009 - 01/01/2010
01/01/2010 - 02/01/2010
02/01/2010 - 03/01/2010
03/01/2010 - 04/01/2010
04/01/2010 - 05/01/2010
05/01/2010 - 06/01/2010
06/01/2010 - 07/01/2010
07/01/2010 - 08/01/2010
08/01/2010 - 09/01/2010
09/01/2010 - 10/01/2010
10/01/2010 - 11/01/2010
11/01/2010 - 12/01/2010
12/01/2010 - 01/01/2011
01/01/2011 - 02/01/2011
02/01/2011 - 03/01/2011
03/01/2011 - 04/01/2011
04/01/2011 - 05/01/2011
05/01/2011 - 06/01/2011
06/01/2011 - 07/01/2011
07/01/2011 - 08/01/2011
08/01/2011 - 09/01/2011
09/01/2011 - 10/01/2011
10/01/2011 - 11/01/2011
11/01/2011 - 12/01/2011
12/01/2011 - 01/01/2012
01/01/2012 - 02/01/2012
02/01/2012 - 03/01/2012
03/01/2012 - 04/01/2012
04/01/2012 - 05/01/2012
05/01/2012 - 06/01/2012
06/01/2012 - 07/01/2012
07/01/2012 - 08/01/2012
08/01/2012 - 09/01/2012
09/01/2012 - 10/01/2012
10/01/2012 - 11/01/2012
11/01/2012 - 12/01/2012
12/01/2012 - 01/01/2013
01/01/2013 - 02/01/2013
02/01/2013 - 03/01/2013
03/01/2013 - 04/01/2013
04/01/2013 - 05/01/2013
05/01/2013 - 06/01/2013
06/01/2013 - 07/01/2013
07/01/2013 - 08/01/2013
08/01/2013 - 09/01/2013
09/01/2013 - 10/01/2013
10/01/2013 - 11/01/2013
11/01/2013 - 12/01/2013
12/01/2013 - 01/01/2014
01/01/2014 - 02/01/2014
02/01/2014 - 03/01/2014
03/01/2014 - 04/01/2014
04/01/2014 - 05/01/2014
05/01/2014 - 06/01/2014
06/01/2014 - 07/01/2014
07/01/2014 - 08/01/2014
08/01/2014 - 09/01/2014
09/01/2014 - 10/01/2014
10/01/2014 - 11/01/2014
11/01/2014 - 12/01/2014
12/01/2014 - 01/01/2015
01/01/2015 - 02/01/2015
02/01/2015 - 03/01/2015
03/01/2015 - 04/01/2015
04/01/2015 - 05/01/2015
05/01/2015 - 06/01/2015
06/01/2015 - 07/01/2015
07/01/2015 - 08/01/2015
08/01/2015 - 09/01/2015
09/01/2015 - 10/01/2015
10/01/2015 - 11/01/2015
11/01/2015 - 12/01/2015
12/01/2015 - 01/01/2016
01/01/2016 - 02/01/2016
02/01/2016 - 03/01/2016
03/01/2016 - 04/01/2016
04/01/2016 - 05/01/2016
05/01/2016 - 06/01/2016
06/01/2016 - 07/01/2016
07/01/2016 - 08/01/2016
08/01/2016 - 09/01/2016
09/01/2016 - 10/01/2016
10/01/2016 - 11/01/2016
11/01/2016 - 12/01/2016
12/01/2016 - 01/01/2017
01/01/2017 - 02/01/2017
02/01/2017 - 03/01/2017
03/01/2017 - 04/01/2017
04/01/2017 - 05/01/2017
05/01/2017 - 06/01/2017
06/01/2017 - 07/01/2017
07/01/2017 - 08/01/2017
08/01/2017 - 09/01/2017
09/01/2017 - 10/01/2017
10/01/2017 - 11/01/2017
11/01/2017 - 12/01/2017
12/01/2017 - 01/01/2018
01/01/2018 - 02/01/2018
02/01/2018 - 03/01/2018
03/01/2018 - 04/01/2018
04/01/2018 - 05/01/2018
05/01/2018 - 06/01/2018
06/01/2018 - 07/01/2018
07/01/2018 - 08/01/2018
08/01/2018 - 09/01/2018
09/01/2018 - 10/01/2018
10/01/2018 - 11/01/2018
11/01/2018 - 12/01/2018
12/01/2018 - 01/01/2019
01/01/2019 - 02/01/2019
02/01/2019 - 03/01/2019
03/01/2019 - 04/01/2019
04/01/2019 - 05/01/2019
05/01/2019 - 06/01/2019
06/01/2019 - 07/01/2019
07/01/2019 - 08/01/2019
08/01/2019 - 09/01/2019
09/01/2019 - 10/01/2019
10/01/2019 - 11/01/2019
11/01/2019 - 12/01/2019
12/01/2019 - 01/01/2020
01/01/2020 - 02/01/2020
02/01/2020 - 03/01/2020
03/01/2020 - 04/01/2020
04/01/2020 - 05/01/2020
05/01/2020 - 06/01/2020
06/01/2020 - 07/01/2020
07/01/2020 - 08/01/2020
08/01/2020 - 09/01/2020
09/01/2020 - 10/01/2020
10/01/2020 - 11/01/2020
11/01/2020 - 12/01/2020
12/01/2020 - 01/01/2021
02/01/2021 - 03/01/2021
03/01/2021 - 04/01/2021
04/01/2021 - 05/01/2021
05/01/2021 - 06/01/2021
06/01/2021 - 07/01/2021
07/01/2021 - 08/01/2021
08/01/2021 - 09/01/2021
09/01/2021 - 10/01/2021
10/01/2021 - 11/01/2021
11/01/2021 - 12/01/2021
12/01/2021 - 01/01/2022
01/01/2022 - 02/01/2022
02/01/2022 - 03/01/2022
03/01/2022 - 04/01/2022
04/01/2022 - 05/01/2022
05/01/2022 - 06/01/2022
06/01/2022 - 07/01/2022
07/01/2022 - 08/01/2022
08/01/2022 - 09/01/2022
09/01/2022 - 10/01/2022
10/01/2022 - 11/01/2022
11/01/2022 - 12/01/2022
12/01/2022 - 01/01/2023
01/01/2023 - 02/01/2023
02/01/2023 - 03/01/2023
03/01/2023 - 04/01/2023
04/01/2023 - 05/01/2023
05/01/2023 - 06/01/2023

Powered by Blogger