'Brüno' Movie Review

I used the word fearless to describe Sacha Baron Cohen and Borat, and that word applies equally as well to Brüno. But Brüno takes everything to an even crazier level. If Borat offended you, Brüno will leave you flabbergasted and morally outraged. If you believe Borat was the funniest film of 2006, then Brüno is a sure bet for one of the top spots on your list in 2009. Controversial, uncomfortable, and hilarious, Brüno enthusiastically attacks prejudices and intolerance, and tosses in jabs at celebrities who'll do anything for attention just for good measure.

Baron Cohen knows how to tap into what makes us squirm while so thoroughly entertaining us we can't look away. With director Larry Charles once again in charge, Baron Cohen vamps it up as gay Austrian fashionista Brüno, the fired host of an Austrian show called Funkyzeit. Left jobless, Brüno wants nothing more than to achieve worldwide fame and he doesn't care why he's famous or who he has to sleep with to get there.

Wearing outlandish outfits, this raging egomaniac is ready to take on more than just the fashion world. Brüno and his assistant, Lutz (Gustaf Hammarsten), come to America to seek fame. Setting up interviews with celebrities to discuss their charitable activities, Brüno gets American Idol host Paula Abdul to sit on a Mexican landscaper positioned to look like a chair. But she does balk at eating sushi off the naked chest of another gardener. Score one point for Abdul. And when the interviewing gig doesn't propel him into the spotlight, he decides making a sex tape with someone famous is the way to go. Enter politician Ron Paul. But when Brüno starts up the sexy music, lights some candles, and begins gyrating his pelvis, Paul flees the room. However, unfortunately for the politician, he does so while raving about Brüno being "queer". Brüno even tries to get a real terrorist - yes, a real terrorist - to kidnap him. Why? Because terrorists release videos of their hostages and those videos are seen worldwide.

Other set-ups include a visit to a National Guard facility, a camping trip with four good old boys from the South that ends with armed hunters ready to use their weapons on a human target once they find out Brüno's gay, and a visit to a Dallas talk show with Brüno's adopted black baby (one he traded for an iPod in Africa). Brüno even attends a straight swingers party and goes through gay deprogramming when he deduces that being gay may be the reason why he hasn't become an international superstar. In a truly bizarre twist, the real evangelical therapist he turns to looks ready to give into Brüno's sexual advance...

Each of these segments has a very specific target for its barbed humor, a target Baron Cohen doesn't gently poke and prod but instead subjects to an un-lubricated anal probing. For some reason, people open up around Brüno, as they did Borat, revealing their prejudices with shockingly blunt statements. But I actually think the most interesting and enlightening of all of Brüno's encounters is when he auditions babies to pose for a photo shoot with his adopted son, OJ. Brüno asks the parents questions you'd think any rational mom or dad would be put off by, and instead these stage parents are ready and willing to subject their children to just about any indignity in order for their child to book a modeling job. Lose 10 pounds in a week? No problem. Are they willing to allow their child to push a wheelbarrow with a Jewish baby toward an oven? Sure, why not?

I can't believe the mothers and fathers not only said yes to these questions but didn't even bat an eye, didn't even take a moment to consider the impropriety of these questions. You've got to wonder how the friends and families of these people are going to react if they see the film. It's a given none of the parents interviewed will ever be named mom or dad of the year.

The Bottom Line

Baron Cohen as Brüno places his sexuality front and center and nothing is held back. There are no closed bedroom doors here or shots that leave what's going on in Brüno's love life up to your imagination. From butt bleaching to miming oral sex to full on bondage, Brüno is limit-pushing R-rated comedy. With lots of full frontal male nudity - some would say too much penis - Brüno is unquestionably outrageous. It's also a little more mean-spirited than Borat. Baron Cohen's Borat was a simple, innocent man trying to get by in a world he knew nothing about. There's nothing innocent about Brüno.

Baron Cohen is fabulous as Brüno, and actually he looks gorgeous in character. I know a lot of women who'd kill for skin that smooth and flawless. And, as I said earlier, Baron Cohen is fearless when it comes to putting himself out there to make a point and get a laugh. Of course there's a lot of controversy over this film and Baron Cohen's portrayal of a flamboyantly gay man. And, yes, in a way he does feed into the stereotype. But so what? The audience gets the point and leaves entertained. It works.

Grade: A-

Brüno was directed by Larry Charles and is rated R for pervasive strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity and language.

Theatrical Release Date: July 10, 2009