Outrageously hilarious!!. Review on Bruno Movie

I was counting the days gone by on my fingertips and eagerly awaiting the release of this movie. After all, it had Sacha Baron Cohen in the lead (of Borat fame) and I was in splits during that movie so I was anxious for his second outing. Indeed, the tagline itself: “Borat was so 2006” suggested something extraordinary and after a meager 1hr and 15 minutes when the lights brightened, I have to say, I was not disappointed at all!!

Plot:

Bruno continues the tradition of Ali G Indahouse and Boratas the third character portrayed by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Most importantly, it is the ability of Cohen to get completely in character that surprises you. He is hardly recognizable. Bruno is an Austrian “gay” fashionista (emphasis on the word gay, mind you) who is the self proclaimed ‘voice of Austrian youth’ and is the lead reporter of the most watched show in the German language “funkyzeit”(apart from Germany). As with Borat, Bruno too has an unusually long official title which goes on something like this:“Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt”.

It follows the exploits of Bruno as he is ousted and disgraced from the fashion industry after he ruins a major fashion event by wearing a full body suit made of Velcro. He then goes on a ‘never ending quest for celebrity’ and to become world famous. He goes on interview unsuspecting fashion icons like American Idol judge Paula Abdul, Harrison Fordand fashionista Kunal Nayyer amongst others. Even former presidential hopeful Ron Paul couldn’t escape the wrath of Bruno. Bruno goes to America to achieve his ‘dream’ along with his assistant Lutz (with whom he has a rampant gay affair and apparently falls in love). How he realises his dream of world fame after so many rejections and absurdities forms the essence of the plot.

The Absurd:

The beauty and brilliance of Sacha Baron Cohen is the ability to surprise you and deliver the unexpected. He does it all with such a confronting attitude that leaves you open mouthed thinking: “How the hell did he pull that off!” As always, beneath all the surface toilet humour and absurdities lies a deeper, more meaningful motive and Bruno gives Cohen the opportunity to highlight the absurdities of the fashion industry. Also, Bruno is himself a stereotypical gay person and thus comes complete with all the ‘gayish’ mannerisms that we ‘heterosexuals’ make fun of. Not only is it so freaking hilarious and confronting to see a typical gay on screen performing gestures and actions which are only suitable for a gay person, it also highlights the attitude of ‘normal’ people towards gays (and this issue gains much more prominence after homosexuality is no longer a crime in India). During the course of the movie Bruno realises the thing which is common amongst all ‘world famous’ celebrities: they are all ‘straight’. So he attempts to go to a gay converter and a swinger’s party to ‘act and be straight’. This subtle undercutting of the issue shows the difficulty of homosexuals to ‘fit into society’. Ultimately, the climax of the film offers a solution which may or may not be acceptable to society. For that, you have to watch the movie.

The Outrageous:

Yes, yes, there is the outrageous part which just blows your mind! There are some parts which are so confronting where you think “Oh, I wish I hadn’t seen that”. Leave alone minors, this is one movie where even adults might find a little bit of uneasiness to sit through (thank God, the film was only 81 minutes long!). Cohen takes a dig at almost anything he can find. There is reference to Mel Gibson's drinking binge and also of the latest celebrity 'craze', adoption. So, in order to become famous he adopts an Afro - American kid. Then Bruno states: "Madonna has one, Angelina has one, now Bruno has one!" Also, later when asked about the baby's name, he responds: "I gave him a traditional African - American name 'OJ' (referring to OJ Simpson's notorious trial). When asked how did he get him? He adds, "I swapped him for an ipod!" Barring that, the film is vulgar (and I mean vulgar in the real sense of the word) but if you can sit through the nonsense you will definitely realise the essence behind the movie. It is after all, a socio political satire which so clearly depicts the resistance of society to change and acceptance.

Isht fantastic!

Sorry, I got a bit carried away by the accent. Cohen isn’t the actor playing the character. He IS Bruno! There is an aura about Bruno (much like Borat) where he is almost a person in itself. With Bruno comes a brand new accent, a new face, new costumes and a completely different attitude.

I am not sure even if the film will be released in India (I hope not otherwise I don’t know what chaos will prevail), but all I can say is that: If you manage to get your hands on this one, you’ll find something new about society and in the process, something new about yourself…