With Borat the world took notice of Sacha Baron Cohen. He’d won over a niche with Da Ali G Show but Borat propelled him into the spotlight using the foolish prejudices of average people in the United States to create a road trip exposing the underlying racism and xenophobia in the country. The film became a sensation unto itself and generated the controversy necessary to make Cohen a recognizable face. If Bruno shows us anything, it’s that Cohen can still disguise himself despite all the fame he garnered in a cheap suit and bushy moustache. Bruno follows a flagrantly homosexual, Austrian pop-star as he attempts to win fame in the United States after being disgraced in Europe. For every well-worn point he rehashes about the ridiculous nature of celebrity and how it’s revered in this media-crazed country, Cohen attempts to ratchet up the shock value achieved in his previous endeavor, never realizing that shock isn’t what made Borat worthwhile. It was the overall revelation, something Bruno lacks.
Americans know full well that they make far too big a deal out of the insignificant details. We buy tabloids and gossip magazines in equal volume with daily newspapers. We actually watch entertainment news. We have an industry built around star maps – and no, it’s neither astronomy nor astrology, it’s tourism. Cohen’s message with Bruno points out the hypocrisy of the people we place on a pedestal and asks us to reconsider the value we give to their every action and word as they’re chronicled in mock-journalistic efforts.
Just as Borat made a loose grab at having a narrative, so did Bruno. The film uses Bruno’s journey to gain celebrity status in one form or another as a way to exposit sequences of people responding to Bruno’s over the top homosexual antics and capturing their hostile or disgusted reactions. It’s here that Bruno doesn’t quite meet the same standard that Borat set. Yes, Borat had a hideously obese man running through a hotel in the nude, but the main moments where points were being made featured Borat simply asking the right questions to the right people and letting them dig their own graves. Bruno on the other hand engages in activities that far exceed the sensible limitations that could be used to register outcry from a normal onlooker. Instead, every gimmick is an over the top exaggeration of either homosexual prejudices or celebrity hypocrisy. It makes the point it wants to but not nearly as strong as the ones received in Borat by far tamer means. The film’s antics dilute the potency of the message. You might laugh at some of the outrageous occurrences – but try watching it a second or third time. Without the shock, there’s little else to keep a viewer engaged.
This is where the Blu-ray exclusive audio commentary comes in.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Instead of watching the movie as is, turn on the Blu-ray audio and video commentary. The experience runs longer than the film (they pause it as they tell the stories of how things happened) and proves far more valuable a lesson about the Hollywood scene than the film ever could. Director Larry Charles and Cohen recount the events of each scene and the stories easily eclipse the things they caught on film. From the talent agent to the overly aggressive dominatrix at the swingers party, the people involved in the film had varying levels of awareness about what it was they were involved in. The Blu-ray version offers a few exclusive deleted and extended scenes, however they’re not all that interesting. Even the Latoya Jackson segment, deleted for the theatrical release, disappoints in how tame it is. Like the deleted and extended scene options for most films, it isn’t hard to understand why they weren’t included in the final cut. For all the extra scenes, what really gives Bruno any validity as a Blu-ray release is the terrific commentary. I can’t stress that enough – it’s better than the film.
"Brüno" is on sale November 17, 2009 and is rated R. Comedy, Documentary. Directed by Larry Charles. Written by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Mazer & Jeff Schaffer. Starring Sacha Baron Cohen.
