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John Allman

If you’ve ever wandered the aisles at the video store or surfed the DVR pay-per-view options and seen a bunch of movies that you’ve never heard of, chances are John has watched them. Why? He loves movies. All kinds of movies. Good, bad, so-bad-they’re good, even the truly unwatchable ones. He mostly loves horror and science-fiction and drive-in exploitation movies that most upstanding model citizens wouldn’t dare watch. Then he writes up his thoughts so you can decide - watch, don’t watch or avoid at all costs. Sometimes he even gets to talk to the cool folks who make some of your favorite films.

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Bruno

Posted Dec 8, 2009 by John Allman

Updated Dec 8, 2009 at 01:13 AM

Bruno
Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Larry Charles
Run time: 82 minutes
Rating: R
Format: Blu-Ray

The Lowdown: Lots of people walked out on “Bruno,” abandoning the theater partway through Sacha Baron Cohen’s hysterical, scathing, highly insightful skewering of American pop culture and the pervasive fear and seething anger that still exists toward openly gay men.

In leaving before the final credits, those people missed one of the funniest films ever made about ignorance, prejudice and the quest of a misunderstood Austrian fashion journalist to just share his man-on-man love with the world and adopt a black baby to bring him fame and fortune.

That’s right, “Bruno” is better than “Borat,” Cohen’s uproarious first feature. It crosses more lines, delivers more shocks and says more about American hypocrisy and celebrity than most “real” documentaries ever could.

The fact that much of “Bruno” plays like a movie, and not the same faux documentary/cinema verite-style of “Borat,” actually makes things work better.

To ask audiences to believe that so many gullible people might still be fooled would be a stretch. But what “Bruno” does better is maximize those rare moments when Cohen traps lightning in a bottle twice and really does catch someone by surprise – none better than an unbelievable interview with former presidential candidate Ron Paul, whose comeuppance is satisfying and illuminating, particularly for anyone who thought Paul was a less than favorable contender for commander-in-chief.

“Bruno” is not an easy movie to watch at times, and not because of Cohen’s fearless performance. There are moments that are revelatory and some that are incredibly sad. The humor that is extrapolated comes with a heavy price, a realization of how far our society still has to travel to be able to treat all people equal.

And there are moments of sheer genius, such as when Bruno and Co. invade a mixed-martial arts fight night smack dab in the heart of rural America and proceed to give the bloodthirsty fans a show they won’t soon forget.

Much like the naked hotel wrestling match from “Borat,” this is the scene that pushes the boundary to its breaking point and becomes that much funnier because of it.

The Stuff You Care About:
Hot chicks – No.
Nudity – Yes.
Gore – No.
Drug use – No.
Bad Guys/Killers – None.
Buy/Rent – Buy it.
Blu-Ray Bonus Features – Blu-Ray Exclusives: Video commentary by Sacha Baron Cohen and Larry Charles about the true stories from making the film; Pocket Blu iPhone app that allows you to watch bonus features on the go; BD-Live. Additional Features: Deleted and extended scenes, an interview with Lloyd Robinson.
On the Web – http://www.thebrunomovie.com/
Release Date – Nov. 17, 2009