More after the jump.
Baron Cohen has made a name by disguising himself as ridiculous characters and exploiting people and exposing their prejudices while making a social critique. His methods range from the absolutely absurd to the downright subversive, but, no matter which he employs, the results are always cry-inducing hilarious. His latest film Bruno, freshly out of his Ali G Show staple, is just as funny as his earlier effort, Borat, but this film just lacks the overall cohesion of Borat. The narrative line that carries us from one gag to the next feels a little more strained, and the film abruptly ends at the 80 minute mark without much fanfare. It just feels like they ran out of sketches and decided to tack on the credits. But oh, were those 80 minutes worth the price of admission.
Where Borat was completely oblivious as to what was going on and let everyone laugh at his ignorance, Bruno goes straight for the jugular and makes no excuse for his behavior. He knows just how manipulative and narcissistic he is, and he's totally fine with it. The film is offensive, shocking, disgusting, frightening, but, most of all, it's just funny. I'd go on to dissect specific gags, but that ruins the shock factor of going into the film and just seeing it for what it is. Not all of the scenes work, but they work more often than they fail, and while the film does have a certain been-there-done-that feel to it after the success of Borat, Baron Cohen's latest still feels relevant.
Comedies come and go each year; some are good; some are bad. But people keep throwing down hard-earned money because they make the decision that they are in the mood to laugh, and whether you think this is a good movie or not, Bruno never fails to make you laugh.
--Greg MacLennan
RSS Feed
