“Brüno”

The story isn’t important, and is as erratic as it is inane, but once again that was hardly the point of the film. The main goal was to show some of the more stereotypical parts of America, and ridiculing them while doing so. The movie achieves this perfectly, offensively and more often than not uncomfortably. There were moments when Brüno, played by Sacha Baron Cohen, tries to convert his homosexuality by speaking with Christian ministers, these moments would be considered highly offensive to anyone who felt strongly about their faith, but for those who are less dedicated to religion those moments provide some of the best laughs.

There are several more situations similar to those where Brüno creates uncomfortable situations for straight men, and that makes up the majority of the movie. The laughter in the theater was rather spread out, some people being more disgusted with the low brow humor, sporadic nudity and flamboyance, than amused, but the film had a number of genuinely hilarious moments anyone could enjoy.

The final scene in the movie places Brüno in a mixed martial arts arena in Arkansas, where he is completely surrounded by heterosexual adrenalin junkies attempting to watch a fight. Without giving any spoilers, the few moments Brüno is on stage he nearly incites a riot, and has a number of objects thrown at him. The display of hate from real people is actually quite stunning, and while filmed to be humorous still manages to make you think.

“Brüno” will never be in my top ten list of best comedy, and I didn’t laugh nearly as much as I had hoped. The movie isn’t bad by any means, but it feels long and poorly put together. I wouldn’t recommend the movie to anyone of a strong religious background as they likely will just be offended, but if you aren’t easily offended and enjoy a bit of low brow humor, “Brüno” fits the bill well enough. As I was somewhat bored through the majority of the movie and found myself only smiling while the party next to me laughed riotously. I’ll just have to assume that I wasn’t on the level for most of the humor.

Many people will love “Brüno”, while others will hate and decry it, it’s really relative to the viewer. The movie was decent enough, posed a few social questions and set up some amusing situations, but on the whole was less than I expected. I give “Brüno” 5 out of 10.

Starring   

Plot:

Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt