Sacha Baron Cohen has a knack of causing offence on a global scale and through two of his previous big-screen releases, Ali G in Da House and Borat, he found the transition from lowly late-night Channel 4 comedy to the cinema a smooth and thoroughly rewarding process. With Ali G, Baron Cohen was able to call upon the culture he grew up amongst, attending private school whilst living amongst the working class. Borat established, or perhaps even further highlighted, the extreme ignorance of many Americans, to whom foreigners are still seen as a threat to their conservative values and beliefs.
With Bruno, Baron Cohen chooses to bring out the third and last of his comic creations; a gay Austrian whose biggest love is fashion. Whilst the character was not delved into in as big a sense as the former two, it was certainly an idea which needed to be extended and possessed an uncanny ability to bring out the worst in those around him, especially homophobes and those of strict ideology. Thus the massive hype surrounding the release arrived in spades, and in many ways it delivers but it is certainly not without its down points.
From the outset, we learn from the very man himself that all he wants in life is fame; looking specifically to the likes of Kevin Spacey and John Travolta; individuals permanently engraved in Hollywood’s highest echelons. Bruno believes his only route to such stardom is by making showbiz-style shows; whereby interviewing celebrities (Paula Abdul is the first victim) in unusual settings will guarantee success, ratings and celebrity status. Alas, this does not work and he soon finds himself questioning what it is that leaves him feeling so dejected and hopeless. Putting his homosexuality to one side in a vain effort to find his true calling, Bruno tries to learn what it is to be a straight man, but in the process realises happiness – a far more precious and important quality – has been there all along.
With the homosexual theme running throughout the film – as one would expect given the title role – there are moments which would horrify many and in particular many of the early scenes involving Bruno and his supposed lover seem intent on showing as much nudity and sexual content as possible. This in itself drags the film down as it feels like Baron Cohen is trying too hard to shock and in effect, these scenes will incredibly laboured and quite frankly pointless. The entire audience knows Bruno is gay, why he felt the need to hammer these images into the audience’s minds is beyond me.
That aside, there are moments of brilliance within this flawed piece. The chat show scene is very memorable, if only for the shots of the audience members’ faces. Special mention goes to the penultimate scene and the film’s piece de resistance, which throw homosexuality in the faces of amateur cage fighting fans who, as the audience can see for themselves, are filled with vitriol at the very suggestion of someone like Bruno simply living amongst them.
Bruno is Baron Cohen’s swansong, in the sense that he has now retired the very characters he became famous for creating. In one respect, it is fitting that he has chosen the most offensive character as a note on which to end the ‘franchise’. However, for as entertaining a spectacle as it is, one can’t help but feel a little underwhelmed, if not by its predictable nature but by the fact that it brings nothing new to the table, instead relying on vulgar scenes and ancient stereotypes to draw attention to an aged problem.
7/10
