*** 1/2 STARS
Sacha Baron Cohen, who stunned moviegoers with the smash hit “Borat”, returns with “Bruno”, a film about a gay Austrian fashion TV show host who visits the USA with hopes of becoming famous. “Bruno” tries many of the same tricks as “Borat” and is just as is tightly paced, with each stunt building on the next to make the audience increasingly uneasy. It goes without saying that Cohen has impeccable comedic timing and this blistering social satire is sure to offend, enlighten, shock and make people pee their pants with laughter all at once.
Cohen is at his best when he sneaks into various events and dupes celebrities and regular folk alike into thinking he’s for real. In “Bruno” he is mostly interested in using his character’s flamboyance to push buttons about reactions to homosexual men. Some of the movie’s funniest moments come in the silence that comes after an uncomfortable comment. When Bruno goes camping with a trio of good-old boy hunters and remarks that “all the stars in the sky make you think of all the hot guys in the world,” the long uncomfortable silence that follows is hilarious.
Director Larry Charles, who shot “Borat” and directed Bill Maher in “Religulous,” seems to enjoy observing people as they’re pushed from their comfort zones. As a whole, “Bruno” feels a lot more staged than Borat”, but it doesn’t matter, Sacha Baron Cohen is an unbelievable comedic actor and he sells playing his character “Bruno” very well. You have to give Baron Cohen credit for keeping a straight face regardless of the silly situation.
In the end I found “Bruno” funnier and riskier than “Borat”. The film is peppered with strokes of genius and its hard not to admire Baron Cohen’s shrewd timing, the speed at which he ad-libs and brings stupid people out of the wood-work is second to none. Baron Cohen has always been an equal opportunity offender and in “Bruno” the right people are targeted. Even with all the extreme vulgarity (talking urethras, swinging penises, anal jokes, etc.), “Bruno” is still well written and sharply executed. If you are easily offended then skip this movie, otherwise make sure you see this film or you could be left out of all the water cooler conversations at work.
