Brüno

[canadianguy16]

from what ive seen from the previews it kinda looks like a funny movie but doesnt look like that theres alot to it. i saw borat about 2 years ago and didnt find it quite all what people were saying it was. i was told it would be the funniest movie i ever would see. it wasnt. i found it had no basic storyline and found alot of parts to be quite disturbing. i cant judge bruno though as i have yet to see it. maybe i will, maybe i wont. who knows? :)

[Alex]

from what ive seen from the previews it kinda looks like a funny movie but doesnt look like that theres alot to it. i saw borat about 2 years ago and didnt find it quite all what people were saying it was. i was told it would be the funniest movie i ever would see. it wasnt. i found it had no basic storyline and found alot of parts to be quite disturbing. i cant judge bruno though as i have yet to see it. maybe i will, maybe i wont. who knows? :)

If Borat disturbed you, don't see Bruno.

No really. Don't xD

[Tihi]

Brüno is OK, but Borat is better.

[sydney25]

I saw Bruno last night and loved it. Very very funny though I found it much tamer than I expected and certainly not shocking to be honest. It was also way too short. I think Borat was marginally better but Sacha did a great job with Bruno. I loved the bit where he got two sides in the Middle East to agree to the good qualities of hummus. Who would have though hummas could have united different factions in the Middle East. Pure genius. Bits of the film were staged but I loved this movie and the talk show was hilarious as were his experiences at the swingers party and at his karate lesson. I will definitely get this out on DVD to relive the many laughs and recommend this to everyone. An excellent movie that was great fun  

[sydney25]

Here is my review:

Plot: Sacha Baron Cohen plays the world's most famous Austrian since a certain Mr Hitler. Bruno is a fashionista who works as a reporter for one of Austri'a television channels until he loses his job one day and then his midget partner. He decides to go to the United States with a small detour to the Middle East to relaunch his career.

Review: I really enjoyed this film but found it lacked the punch of Borat. I laughed out loud many times and cringed occasionally but found it much tamer than I expected as well as lacking in shock value. I felt the film was playing it too safe to avoid the same legal problems that Borat encountered. Since watching the movie I have discovered my instincts were right which I find sad as I feel they could have done more with this movie if they had pushed out the boat a bit more.

A couple of scenes had to be chopped at the last moment. One of those was an interview with La Toya Jackson which they cut after Michael Jackson died. I feel in the context of Bruno it was a mistake to cut the scene. We expect a certain shock value from Bruno but I felt it was lacking and whilst I cringed and laughed a lot I certainly was not shocked as I felt the movie played it too safe and was just a bit too tame. I kept wanting more but it never quite came.

Yes there was an adopted black baby, yes he walked through a Middle Eastern city dressed as a camp gay orthodox Jew and yes Paula Abdul was sitting on human furniture but that is exactly what I would expect from Bruno so hardly a shock or surprise. If it happened in the Care Bears then yes I probably would be shocked but not with Bruno. Sadly, I was hoping for more shock value and it never came.

Another problem with the film was that it was way too short at 70 minutes. I never felt it quite fully delivered. This was partly because some of the interviewees had wised up to the fact that Cohen was in town and it was a spoof and also a number of the interviews were cut short when people such as Paula Abdul suspected something was up. It seems Cohen was sprung a lot.

Another problem I had was that parts of the film seemed very contrived and set up. Whilst I enjoyed the American Jerry Springer type talk show it was clear that the talk show itself was a complete set up and the only people not in on it were the studio audience which for me lost some impact. Equally it was clear that the Arabs chasing Bruno were actors. It did not ring true.

Having said that there was a hell of a lot going for this movie and some genius moments. The talk show audience was priceless and his debate that Africans were African Americans was hilarious. Similarly the way he got the Arab and the Jew to agree on the value of hummus was pure genius and he has probably done more to unite different Middle Easter factions than anyone else. I loved the way he drew people into benile and surreal debates. Very clever.

I also enjoyed the topical references such as adopting the African baby and calling it the traditional acting name of OJ.

So yes I enjoyed this film but felt it was a pale immitation of Borat and one that played it too safe. The wrestling match was a fine example. It was fun to watch but no where near as powerful as the scenes in Borat where he sang at the rodeo or had the naked fight at the conference. I felt this was a mish mash of different scenes thrown together to try and put some sort of movie together and they simply made do with what they had. All they came up with was 70 minutes.

Great effort and very funny but sadly no Borat. I still loved it though. Go and see it if you have not already seen it. For what it is it is great fun.