Monday, July 13, 2009

Brüno: Acerbic and Outrageous Comedy


"A bear came and ate my all clothing and belongings except for this box of condoms. Can I come inside?"

It's a wonder that comedian Sacha Baron Cohen continuously tricks poor prejudiced Americans into exposing their ignorance time and time again. Especially after the release of 2006's highly successful and entertaining feature Borat, it is commendable that he manages to do so. With his new film, Cohen tackles the topic of homophobia and sodomizes it with joyful glee.

Brüno follows an outrageously gay fashionista hailing from Austria. Unlike Borat which I feel had a stronger narrative to it, Brüno is primarily concerned with becoming famous (like Hitler, he says). Though the film lacks an emotional grounding and a genuine concern for the main character...the film is uproariously funny.

With many memorable scenes such as Harrison Ford telling Brüno to ""F*ck Off," Paula Adbul sitting on a Mexican worker's back as she talks about her humantarian efforts, an attempt to seduce Ron Paul, an over the top scene where Brüno acts as an extra on the show Medium, and an awkward silence amongst Brüno and four hunters that will have you rolling with laughter, the film does not disappoint.

While the character is meant to reflect and mock the way homosexuals are perceived by the masses, I fear that it may end up backfiring and reenforcing the stereotype that gays are vapid whores who lack any true morals. Let's hope they see past the exercise equipment with a dildo on the end and see that homosexuals on the whole aren't too different from themselves.

1 comment:

Matt said...

That kind of made me vant to see Bruno.

I'll watch it when a decent version shows up online.

I just hope it doesn't end up reinforcing homophobia and negative stereotypes.

By the way, nice blog.