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Three years have passed since the release of Cohen's critically acclaimed Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Notable for it's extremely offensive brand of humor, Borat also brought something to theaters that was rightly labeled as revolutionary–a candidly thorough skewering of contemporary America (especially the notion of cultural tolerance). It's 2009, and Cohen has now unleashed Bruno, a film that sets its sights specifically on two things: America's pervasive, nearly insatiable obsession with stardom and–as you may have guessed–its perceptions/treatment of the homosexual community.Even though Borat is shockingly crude, it is also easily accessible (and, I must say, consistently hilarious). Bruno is a different beast altogether. It crosses the line into "awkward viewing" territory, ultimately alienating the viewers it's trying the hardest to reach.The plot of Bruno is similar to that of Borat. The self-proclaimed Austrian fashion icon is fired from his position as the host of a prominent television show, and decides that in order to retain his fame he must travel to the U.S. Naturally, his first stop, along with this quiet, straight-laced assistant, is Los Angeles. Once there, he hires an agent and tries to work his way up the Hollywood totem pole.From the very beginning, we're bombarded with the sort of humor we've come to expect from Cohen: over the top, quirky, cause-you-to-squirm interplay with people who aren't in on the joke. And, of course, a lot of nudity. If you were one of the people who wasn't quite able to stomach Borat, then I heartily recommend that you stay away from Bruno. The movie takes the term "crude humor" to an all new level–one scene even has Bruno visiting a swinger's party (I'll leave the rest up to your imagination). Though this is certainly enough to put-off casual moviegoers, there are some genuinely serious moments in the film that warrant at least one viewing. Just as the gross-out humor is ratcheted up a notch here, so is the revelation of just how appalling the general populace can be. At one point Bruno is interviewing mothers who are hoping to enter their infants into a photo shoot. The desperation on these mothers' faces is stomach-turning; this is essentially a stronger dose of the stuff that made Borat so revolutionary. He asks one mother, "How much does your child weigh?" The mother's response: "30 lbs." Bruno: "Could he lose, like, 10 lbs. by next week?" The mother: "Oh, yes. That's no problem." In the same scene, he tells another mother: "In this photo, your child will be hanging on a cross. Are you okay with your baby being crucified?" The mother: "Yes. My baby can be crucified." One mother even agrees to allow Bruno to dress up her toddler as Adolf Hitler, who will be pushing a wheelbarrow (containing another baby) toward an oven. As wretched as much of the humor is, these scenes are the ones that stand out as truly horrifying. If you can brave all of the undeniably gross comedy, you'll find a worthwhile subtext here–one that's much darker than that of Borat. It's a difficult trade-off, though. Because, quite frankly, Bruno just isn't as funny as Borat.Remember the scene in Borat where our lovable protagonist is finally reunited with his producer? They enter his motel room in L.A., and, amidst casual discussion, the refrigerator is opened, allowing us to see the severed head of the bear that had "escaped." That type of humor is almost completely absent from Bruno. Instead, you've got a lot of awkward scenarios. Some of them are laugh-till-you choke funny. Others–not so much. Overall, the comedy in Bruno is a mixed bag, but if you can handle oodles of humor that's beyond tasteless, you'll find that the gags that work just barely outweigh the ones that don't.After Borat, the message here shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, but it's still amazing– and deeply depressing–to see how soulless and greedy people can be. It's just too bad Cohen couldn't reach his audience in a more accessible manner.Check out more of my reviews at: www.flowersflix.com
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