Bruno = the gay Borat?
So we all knew about Sacha Baron Cohen’s next movie project and we were wondering how socking it will be, right? Well, was it shocking: - Yes. Was it funny: - Hell Yeah! Was it satisfying? - Sort of…
To be honest I was one of those people that questioned if it was a good idea to go see it in a theater, fearing that it will make people feel too awkward and the social fun won’t sparkle. But I think everyone that goes to see this movie has already an idea what to expect so even if they have to bite their lips in a couple of scenes they force themselves (so to speak) to have fun.
The scenario intelligently used all Bruno’s failed attempts to impress people as part of his downfall and his struggle to be accepted again. And there are catch phrases that you simply can’t get out of your head once you hear them, like “Bono’s got AIDS” and “Osama is like a dirty wizard or a homeless Santa”. There is a nice twist at the end were Bruno becomes “Straight Dave”, but that’s just for laughs as well…
As expected the movie shines in the spontaneous humor and improvised comebacks from real life reactions. The whole scene when Bruno goes through military training is hilarious and funnier than anything “Police Academy” had to offer. And listening a priest talk about what to do not to be gay just made me think that all the stereotypes are well and doing fine (don’t listen to beach boys music and do exercise? Really??)
My biggest problem is the presentation of the movie, mainly the direction. I mean for this kinda story I was expecting to see something in the likes of Zoolander - flashy and superficial. Instead we are treated with the same reality TV gritty look - almost identical to what we saw in Borat. In fact it’s so similar that I can spot identical scenes in the two movies - does running in the dark to escape from imminent danger (falsely) remind you anything?
Anyway, I’m sure Sasha wanted the relation with the previous movie and it was all intentional but if he makes a third on of the likes (a trilogy pre se) I’m sure it won’t have the same impact as these two. Even now, people are already aware of Sasha’s kookiness and aren’t that surprised by his antics as they were before. On the plus side I don’t think he’ll get as many law suits either - so all’s good.
In the end, it was an enjoyable movie, our brain was traumatized forever with a couple of pictures but that came as no surprise either. Dear I say that we were counting on it?
Oh and I should say that I liked the original look of Bruno - not the new improved one. Or is this too 90’s look now?
