Get ready for Funkyzeit mit Brüno as Sacha Baron Cohen, the creator of Borat returns with another of his outrageous creations – a gay Austrian fashionista.
Outrageous is probably too tame a word for what Cohen has managed to create with Bruno. And it’s probably not surprising seeing as he is mocking everything from the perspective of an openly gay character, who, like Borat has no clue as to what constitutes normal social behaviour.
Where Borat reigned supreme, by coercing people into publicly demonstrating their own prejudices, Bruno stumbles and falls, preferring to focus instead on pushing the envelope of what can be shown on a mainstream release.
Sure, when Bruno gets people to do or say ridiculous things, there are moments of pure laugh out loud comedic genius. Some of the facial expressions are priceless, but these scenes are often too infrequent and far apart to keep even a smile on your face.
Bruno for the most part is an arduously boring and obviously over staged series of encounters, of which most miss their mark, resulting in an experience that makes you wish you’d done something else – anything else – for the last seventy eight minutes.
It’s time for Cohen to stop trying to shock people, and instead put his talents to better use, possibly by trying his hand covering a serious topic, utilising his skills of getting people to show their true colour – albeit, unintentionally. Kinda like a younger, slimmer Michael Moore.
Reviewed by: Jonathan Read
Rating: [R16] Offensive language, sexual material and other content that may offend.
Released on: November 11th, 2009
Stars: Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten, Clifford Bañagale, Josh Meyers
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1
Languages: English
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Supported Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio
Director: Charles, Larry
Studio: Universal Pictures
