"Bruno" Movie Review

This week we take a look at Bruno (R), the newest comedy from Sacha Baron Cohen, the man behind 2006’s Borat. Bruno is an Austrian fashionista who comes to the United States in an attempt to become famous. Hilarity ensues.

Ryan: I've been a big fan of Sacha Baron Cohen ever since his comedy show first appeared on HBO. The show was brilliant and hysterically funny. The Borat film of a few years ago was basically an extension of the show and not surprisingly the film turned out to be an instant comedic classic. Unfortunately the same fate does not await Bruno. Granted Bruno contains many laughs and at times insightful moments of satire. But ultimately the film is uneven with its tone and with its comedy and it falls short of Cohen's other work.

Andy: It’s hard to avoid comparing Borat and Bruno, but it is really no comparison at all. Borat was a much better film, maintained a degree of social commentary, and was generally funnier than Bruno. Bruno seems to go to great lengths to be more shocking than Borat was. On occasion that works quite well, but too many of the shocking sequences are trying too hard to be offensive rather than interesting or clever.

Ryan: When the film Bruno is working, it’s cutting edge humor. There are several laugh-out-loud scenes that also work on another level as biting social commentary. Regrettably there are not enough of these scenes. For whatever reason with this film, Cohen wants to push the envelope of taste more than telling jokes. Borat had its one infamous shocking scene but Bruno is littered with them. The scenes that are in question are just there to shock the audience and as a result devalue the film from cutting edge comedy to a sour mix of raunchiness and lewdness.

Andy: Out of fairness to Cohen, it must have been much more difficult to find people who did not know who he was or what he was doing after the success of Borat. Especially during segments of the film where he is in L.A., it’s hard to imagine that very many “connected” Hollywood players would not know him. Many of the scenes feel like they are staged, which makes the whole movie seem too forced.

Ryan: I say this from time-to-time but I think it's very applicable here. Bruno is not for everybody. Even if one is a fan of R-rated comedies this film still might not be your cup of tea. I don't get offended very often while watching a movie, and for better or worse, I wasn't offended while watching Bruno but I'm certain most moviegoers will find something distasteful about the film. In a lot of ways that's Cohen's intention—to make moviegoers uncomfortable with his brand of comedy. So just be forewarned that this is a rated R comedy for a multitude of reasons.

Andy: The fact is that Bruno has taken the R-rating to where it has not been before. Sometimes it is shocking (and that is the point), but often it is simply trying to make the audience cringe. What made Borat such a fascinating movie was that all of the jokes and awkward situations seemed to be serving a larger theme. Bruno spends too much time simply trying to be scandalous, and even though there are some brilliant moments, the movie is weaker because of it.

Bruno has flashes of greatness, but often stumbles for a final grade of B-.