Bruno

[Vishenka69]

Totally not worth seeing on the big screen. Pretty much same as Borat but the main character is gay and overwaxed/oiled. The plot line is very similar to Borat with the various "skits" being only slightly varied. I'm not even sure it's worth renting on a DVD, just wait until it's free on cable. It also has a LOT more male nudity than Borat. I found it more gross than funny.

[radwife]

I listened to the review on NPR. That was enough to turn me off!

[DCJenn]

I think the days of lampooning the flamboyant gay person are done. It's just not that funny.

Jenn

[McPants]

We went to see it last week and both thought it was alright but far from the quality of Borat. The main difference between Brüno and Borat is that in the former Baron-Cohen relies more on comedy in which people are supposed to laugh at the character rather than the way people react to him. Essentially, what made Borat amazing is only occasionally present in Brüno. Instead there's a whole lot of outrageously OTT gayness that isn't consistently funny. A few of the situations Bruno is placed in are hilarious, though the film feels very disjointed and more like a clip show than an actual movie.

[GrayMatterWife]

Seemed a little like a one-joke movie from the trailers. Yeah, I get it. Flamboyant gay guy who is both shallow and utterly unself-aware in any meaningful sense, who inflicts himself on others--and, of course, hilarity" ensues, in a gay-fish-out-of-water kind of way.

Wasn't this done by the "Jack" character on "Will & Grace," but minus the accent and bad hair cut? (And, from what I can tell, in a much funnier way, thanks in large part to Meghan Mullaly?)

Maybe I just have aberrational gay friends, but none of my gay friends act this way. They are all run-of-the-mill teachers and lawyers and stuff. Yeah, some of the males have some feminine affectations, but no one goes out of their way to just BE LOUD AND GAY in others' faces all the time. They are just normal--no more or less obvious about their sexuality than anyone else is. I get that there is some kind of stereotype that makes this gag funny, but it seems a little like a gay version of blackface to me... Thrown in with some cheap shots at hick-ish looking people who seemed confused at the sight of...well, a really weird, obnoxious gay guy.

???

[alison]

Dh and I saw this last weekend in a theater full of kids. In front of us there was a dad with his two young boys, not more than 10 years old. Who DOES that?!?!??

If you understand German, you'll find it all terribly annoying. Lutz is played by a Swedish actor whose German is ok, and Sacha Baron Cohen says random crap that makes absolutely no sense at all. We had to read the subtitles to understand what was going on, yet we could hear some semblance of German being spoken. Argh!

[McPants]

If you understand German, you'll find it all terribly annoying. Lutz is played by a Swedish actor whose German is ok, and Sacha Baron Cohen says random crap that makes absolutely no sense at all. We had to read the subtitles to understand what was going on, yet we could hear some semblance of German being spoken. Argh!

Hah hah, totally! Still, I was actually both surprised and quite impressed that they made any effort at all to use actual German words and phrases (compare with Borat's "Kazakh" language for instance). When Baron Cohen is doing things more or less unscripted you can tell that he's unable to speak German properly, however when they're doing scripted scenes together I thought most of it at least represented the meaning they were trying to convey.

[ladymoreta]

We saw it this weekend, too, and in the words of my husband, "I wasn't offended, but it just wasn't funny." There were a few chuckles in places that weren't even "supposed" to be the really funny parts, but the parts where you know they expected laughs, the theater was just silent. It was pretty awkward. Also, one couple walked out. That was pretty funny... I mean, why go to a movie like Bruno if you're that easily offended?

[alison]

however when they're doing scripted scenes together I thought most of it at least represented the meaning they were trying to convey.

You're right. I'm being a little too harsh.

I did think the scene when Bruno is sitting around the campfire with the 3 guys that the SATC line is hilarious.

[MrsC]

We were a bit disappointed with it too. A lot of it was gross rather than funny. Borat was better.

Though, it's hard not to compare it to Baron Cohen's character Ali G. Now he is hilarious. Look it up on youtube.

[Chrisada]

DH has a boot leg version and I went upstairs to bed after about 20 minutes. Horribly dissappointing considering how good Borat was.