“Sacha Baron bares it all”
_ BRUNO_
Title: BRUNO
The following is a sample conversation I fear may take place in homes all over the country. Him - “Honey, the guy who voices that funny animal in Madagascar has a new movie out. We should go see it.” Her - “I love Julian! Let’s go see it dear.” Then afterwards they have to spend their child’s entire college fund on mental therapy. Bruno is the new character comedy from Borat creator Sacha Baron Cohen. It is shockingly outlandish and makes no apologies in its attempt to offend and stereotype. I feel it is my duty to prepare you for the film more than review its creativeness and art. Cohen’s ability to show the reality of social reaction may be enlightening but it certainly will not be everyone’s cup of theater tea.
Bruno (SBC) is a gay Australian fashion aficionado who when ousted from his homeland decides to come to America in the pursuit of becoming world famous. While here he pokes fun at everything the real stars do to get their faces on magazines and television. Like Borat, the ingenuity of the film is that most of the participants do not know it is fiction. Bruno does the bizarre and we get the humor of the reaction from those who can’t believe what they are seeing and hearing. Put someone as flamboyant as Bruno on a hunting trip with three back wood Alabama boys who have no idea they are in a movie and what you get is awkward hilarity. It is those moments that make this film a hit. But unfortunately there is a lot in here that could have been trashed.
This film is wall to wall graphic in its sexual content. That is the foundation of the Bruno character and a prominent fixture. If you are in any way put off or offended by the look, reference to, or depiction of the male anatomy and homosexual acts then high tale it over to The Proposal, cause this isn’t your film, Jack. You must do your homework on a movie like this. Those who witnessed Borat know what they are getting into. If all you have to go on is the poster of the funny man in the tight yellow shorts that looks like it might be a date night comedy, then you are walking into blunt force shock trauma. If you know ahead of time the creators desire to use these offensive moments to depict human reaction and are prepared you will laugh a lot. I did. But I knew what I was getting into and I was bracing myself for the onslaught of crude.
If you want to put this film in any sort of redemptive art classification I have this to say about it. Though I would never place these movies in the same talent galaxy as the greatness of Stephen King there is a similarity here that intrigues me. Read a King story like The Mist and you soon discover that what is hiding in the Mist is not nearly as terrifying as the reaction of humans to that which is in the mist. The ugliness and cruelty of human nature in the grip of unknown fear is horrifying. Likewise, Bruno himself is not nearly as hilarious as the reaction of normal society to Bruno. People are fascinating to watch and to watch them when they are pushed to the extreme of their comfort level is a profound documentary of human nature. That is the element of films like Bruno that make them so compelling to me. How’s that for a silver lining?
Bruno is rated R for pervasive strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity and language. Seriously people be smart movie goers. Keep your kids far away from this one and do not even attempt o make this a family outing regardless of the age. Even on a date night you will be more than uncomfortable. If you offend easy and can’t find the humor in the asinine then don’t bother. You will just walk out frustrated or worse. As I said I found it side splittingly funny at times but at the expense of a few brain cells. I give it 3.5 out of 5 Gayby’s, Agree or not with his motive but SBC is the king of character comedy. Just be prepared at the lengths he will go to get a reaction. So says Matt Mungle
Matt Mungle (matt@mungleshow.com) (7/07/09)
(3.5 out of 5)
Review copyright 2009 Mungleshow Productions. Used by Permission.
Loading ...
29 users commented in " BRUNO - Movie Review "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackCan’t you get it right? He’s Austrian, not Australian
I guess you’ve never heard of a country.
lOL
I went to see it today. I’m a huge Borat fan, so was REALLY looking forward to the Bruno movie.
What can I say. Huge anti-climax. Loads of nudity, but nothing hilarious. Borat had me in stitches. Bruno made me want to ask for a refund of my cinema ticket.
Such a shame for Sacha.
I can’t continue to read this after you used the word “Australian.” He’s Austrian. This is not a valid review.
losers. people make mistakes. sorry that he accidentally said australian instead of austrian. go fuck yourselves. this review is perfectly written.
I’m a huge Borat fan. SBC’s humor in Borat is my family 100%!!! So I was looking forward to a great movie in Bruno. What a disappointment. Those of you who havn’t seen it, don’t waste your money until you can rent it from Red Box. BTW, this is not an advertisement for RB. Now waiting for a Borat sequal!!!!!!!!!!
Worst movie of all time. People were wallking out of the theatre and the customer service line for refunds was twice as long as the ticket line.
please people…do not go to this movie. Surely there is some rating over and above R that could have been given as a warning.
Crude is just that CRUDE! Nothing funny about a screenfull of male genitalia in your face! What’s worse is taking your teenager to it thinking it was just a funny movie and being subjected to a movie that should have NEVER received just an “R” rating! Half the theatre walked out in the first 15 minutes! I wish I hadn’t spent even 1 watching such trivial trash! I hope he loses enough money to teach him that some people have class and to quit assuming we are all idiots and will sit through anything! Shame on you and your idea of “comedy” SBC!!!
Meant to make my username “horrified1″ not “horri1″ the only “horri 1″ was Bruno himself…ha!
this is the dumbest thing I ever read.
he isn’t even Australian - he’s Austrian.
maybe you just didn’t understand the movie,
because it was great.
Hmph!.. If you can’t deal with it, don’t watch it. It’s about time that men get naked on the big screen. Now all you hypocrites of the male gender can experience what does it feel like for us women to watch boobs and vaginas constantly on regular teevee. Such an awesome lesson! Thank you SBC!
This may well be a movie that does well only on the Coasts. I saw it yesterday in a packed house in Boston. The audience laughed uproariously throughout the entire film, and I don’t believe a single soul left early. I personally found it hilarious from the get-go.
As a gay man, I suppose I could have been offended, but then I would have missed the point. Brüno makes fun of all the straight, clueless people out there. And he’s such an extreme stereotype, that only the most sheltered, backwoods people who don’t know any gays could possibly believe he’s representative.
So, if you’re a middle-American, living more than 100 miles from the ocean, or a major city, you probably won’t like this film.
But if you’re a jaded urban sophisticate, you’ll love this crude romp though Brüno’s ridiculous quest to become famous, and to try to become straight (unsuccessfully).
Not as good as Borat. Not even close. Borat was funny and clever, Bruno is all about shock, like Farris said (comment 10). Glorified Howard Stern/Jerry Springer.
On a side note, even though Bruno and Borat have been at each other in the tabloids, I have solved it with a Photoshop bomb on my web site!!!
http://www.crapicdesign.com/misc/celebrity-spat-bruno-vs-borat/
please do NOT go see it. SERIOUSLY. WORST F***ING MOVIE EVER. it was so disgusting, and not even in a remotely funny way. and the way it portrayed gay people was absolutely horrible. if i was gay i would be so offended. actually, im not even gay and i was majorly offended. i dont even have words for that movie. and it was so racist its not even funny. it actually made me wanna cry at some of the parts about children and black people. youd think it would be good because borat was hilarious, but this movie was seriously the BIGGEST waste of $20 that i’ve ever heard of. thats an hour and a half of my life that i’ll never get back. i do notttttt recommend this movie at ALL. ugh. just ugh. i’ll probably have nightmares tonight.
I thought it was hilarious! My 76 year old mother went to see it with me, some scenes were a little “uncomfortable” when you’re with your mom but we both laughed outloud through the entire movie. Anyone that is disturbed by the subject matter or hates the movie obviously didn’t read about it beforehand, is homophobic or just doesn’t have a good sense of humor. It’s a movie for goodness sake, meant to be entertaining and it certainly was for us!! Loved it.
El Marcielago, I don’t want to pick an internet fight with you, but I consider myself one of those “jaded urban sophisticates” you speak of, right here in New York City, and I walked out of the theatre thinking this was the dumbest piece of shit I’ve seen since Pearl Harbor.
The movie was ABSOLUTELY uncomfortable and hilarious at the same time. Although every second of it was socially inappropriate, that is what made it so entertaining. I am from a small town in Indiana and I know many people just like the Alabama boys on the hunting trip, yet it was still priceless. Just because we’re from Middle-America does not mean we do not recognize the narrow minded stereotypes prevalent in the US and see the comedy in such a film.
Don’t waste your money! Bruno is a piece of trash, brilliantly marketed. Aside from a few momentary looks at the vicious underbelly of America’s darker corners, an unfunny movie, veering towards basic porno that sets back gay rights 40 years. I’m so very disappointed. No one in my local theater, including myself, laughed much at all–most people had showed up expecting broad satire along the lines of Borat but instead got a film that doesn’t begin to understand the world of gay camp. The scuttlebutt from the teenagers in my town is that “It’s vulgar.” Vulgar? For the teenagers of today’s world to say that a movie is vulgar must mean that it really is bad… With a little bit of editing the film might actually have been better but as it is, it is overindulgent narcissism on the part of Cohen that parades around as comic satire. It’s release and weekend box office returns shows just how low the satire bar has sunk in 2009. Prediction: will sink like a stone once the word gets out after this weekend.
Absolutely the worst movie I have ever seen. I loved Borat and even bought copies for my friends. It was sharp witted, intelligent and extremely well orchastrated.
This ’sequel’ is abominable.. I wanted to walk out, but kept thinking, this has got to get better. It didn’t, it got worse. Very few seriously humoures(sp?) parts.
I have seen pornographic movies that were not near as distasteful as this one .. and that’s what it was , pure, sick, unadulterated porn.
It certainly did have potential, but it went wayyyyy over the top of acceptable video-ography.
I am so disappointed. I Loved Borat and this was such a slap in the face that I doubt I will ever watch another of his movies.
Yes, I did laugh the entire movie. People who hate it, hate it because it’s pro gay or because of Bruno making fun of religion/christianity. I understand it hurts.
MWHOE HAHA …
Ha …
The jokes were good, he’s a great actor with balls. You can take that literally as well …
Please people, DON’T BELIEVE THEIR ‘do not waste your money’ BULL SHIT.
Because, it is bullshit. Saying this movie is dumb, is just because you don’t care for the subject of it. And you don’t like the vulgarity. But you DO watch porn, don’t you?
So, go be dissapointed somewhere else.
A review is factual NOT!
i read the first sentence of this review and couldnt go on. What a fucking dumbass
I thought that this review was very well done…I certainly wish I had read it before I went to see the movie. I went with friends expecting a poor movie but certainly not expecting anything so resemblent to porn. So yeah, Matt made a mistake that could have been fixed by proof-reading and checking his sources, but that is no reason to discard a perfectly valid review. He did a good job of looking at the movie from a fairly objective standpoint, so please stop taking out your misplaced irritation on him (it’s annoying and nobody wants to read about it). Also, to those of you who think that Bruno is not compelling to some because it is pro-gay, I think you should take a look at the ENTIRE movie…I thought Bruno was bad NOT because I am anti-gay (which I am not) but because I don’t think a swinging male genitalia is artistic or entertaining in any way. I hated the movie, but accept the responsibility of not researching it beforehand. To those of you who dismissed this review purely because of its mistake about Bruno’s nationality, you missed out. Looks like I wrote a novel
First of all, your supposed to comment about the movie review so stop fretting about how the guy accidentaly wrote Australian instead of Austrian. If your Australian get the f**k over it. Anyways you have to be willing and knowing of what this movie is going to be about to see it. You have to be willing to laugh at crude and vulgar humor that’s not displayed in everyday life. I have to admit that there are some nude parts that are disturbing in this movie but all of it’s still hilarious.
As a huge SBC fan, I was so sad at this obviously staged and lackluster story line. The gags were weak - it seemed like the producers said to these toothless hillbillies in Alabama, “Hey, here’s some coupons to Sonic, act like you would if we weren’t filming you.” It was stupid. I will say that SBC looked beautiful - that’s about the best I can do. His junk’s not so bad looking, either, but I saw enough of it.
This movie was great! The house was packed, no one walked out and everyone laughed from begining to end. Yes, there were a few slow or awkward transitions but it was a very good film. It was equally offensive to just about everyone. SBC is funny and creative, but the real stars of this film are the folks that don’t know they are being punked. They are both funny and shockingly sad. SBC unleashes an over the top sterotype and gets back the sterotype (and often ugly) homophobic responce.
If anything it reveals just how far gays in America still have to go to gain acceptance and equal rights. After all there are still alot of ignorant pig fu@$ing rednecks out there!
A land mark movie. It was more that just vulgar, hilarious, and crude. This movie was brilliantly ironic. It demonstrated how easy many americans write off homosexuality as the worst thing on the planet, while not batting an eye to use a Mexican as a piece of furniture, or introducing your child to danger for money. Perhaps the ingrained values that we hold are just a bit out of order. Just as people used to cringe at the thought of blacks being equal, or women being equal, this movie will drive a dagger into anyone who has an ounce homophobia. Even I had to look away from a penis, as if it were the scariest thing god could create. This movie made me uncomfortable and laugh uncontrollably, and I loved it.
When are they going to STOP making GAY people cool? There is nothing funny about being a gay person–it is freaking SICK!
Just saw the movie. I’m actually ashamed I didn’t walk out. I sat through the whole thing. It’s pretty sad to see the decay of our society right in front of your eyes. As a 26 yo living in Vegas, I sincerely urge everyone to stay away from this movie to save yourself some bad memories and disgust. Hopefully our country doesn’t accept this “comedy”. We are moving down a bad, sick path here with this film.
I simply Can’t believe we are in a time of our civilization where this movie would be seen as anything other than a complete piece of disturbing garbage!!!
Vulgar is not vogue, just because I think SBC is a narcistic turd, does’t mean I don’t get it, so save your elitist bullshit for someone who gives half a fuck. This “movie” was unfunny, lewd, and completely sophmoric. I really loved Borat, this feels like SBC was going back to the well for more money… Plain and simple. More of a joke on us for actually sitting and watching and keep thinking something funny would happen, that never does.
Ha ha jokes is on us poor fucks who work hard for our money to be fooled into paying to see it. Truely the smartest people in the theater are the ones whom left early and promptly asked for a refund.
Leave A Reply