Bruno

Bruno

People take offense at many things.  I try to be open-minded and accepting but sometimes I can't help laughing at something that you know is just wrong to laugh at. Sacha Baron Cohen has many predecessors-Tom Green, Jackass, Beavis and Butthead to name a few - but some may argue this movie crosses several lines worse than these folks do.  While I will not argue that the movie isn't offensive I will say it is brilliant as springboard in discussing homophobia, religious wars, wrongly worshiping celebrities, politics, and so much more.  A line in the movie analyzing Bruno's talk show states, "This is the worst piece of crap I've ever seen."  I beg to differ.

Title: Bruno

When: January 28, 2012 Saturday evening

Where: Home on HBO

Mood: Awake but tired from a day on my feet at the library.  Looking for mindless entertainment.

With whom: myself

Random Fact:  Several local movie theaters warned that you were watching this movie at your own risk and would not receive a refund if you were offended.

I mentioned at the beginning that my mood was looking for mindless entertainment.  Well, this movie is thought provoking yet funny but not for the easily offended.

I was channel surfing and saw this movie had just started on HBO.  A funny note about this is that I thought I checked it out of the library last week but it was not Bruno, it was Borat, my mistake.  Borat is equally funny and offensive but Bruno goes beyond what some consider gross at times.  I however found it to be hilarious.  Again, inappropriate laughter is one of my weaknesses, but I found Bruno to be a smart film, aimed at showing how much hate is in the world but going to extremes to make its point. 

Bruno is a gay fashion obsessed man who wants nothing more than to become famous.  He tries talking to celebrities, creating a talk show, negotiating peace in the Middle East, adopting an African baby, etc.  He even tries several ways to become straight including cage fighting.  All of these things poked fun at Americans who are obsessed with celebrities, people who are homophobic, and politicians and celebrities themselves.  It is a social commentary about how illogical some of our belief systems can be and how some people can hate other people so much based on race, religion, sexual orientation, and more. 

I laughed several times at Bruno's antics and, while some things seemed staged, the fact that people like those portrayed on the film are so full of ignorance and/or hate is funny but also extremely sad.   

I think Sacha is a genius and even though his characters act like imbeciles he has to be one smart cookie in real life; he did go to Cambridge after all.

Did you know:  My favorite "character" Sacha does is as the voice of King Julien, in DreamWorks' family movie Madgascar (2005) as well as its 2008 sequel.  (You've got to Move It, Move It!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoNkfOHBzQk

 Sacha is currently on screen in the Academy Award Nominated film Hugo.

McBeth's rating: 4 out of 5 bags of popcorn