Bruno, Starring Sacha Baron Cohen
A Hilarious Gay Romp or Wildly Offensive?
Following in the wake of controversial film Borat, Baron Cohen brings us his latest offering: Bruno. With virtually the same shtick, Baron Cohen introduces us to a new character: another totally clueless foreigner who just happens to be flamboyantly gay (flamboyant hardly even beginning to scratch the surface).
Exposing Homophobia or Adding Fuel to the Fire?
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation have denounced this film for adding to negative gay stereotypes that already exist. The scenes where Bruno publicly attempts to penetrate another man, prances around cluelessly and attempts to go into another man's tent during a camping trip while fully nude, they claim, seem to vilify others in their hatred of homosexuality. This may be true, but is Bruno actually confronting these stereotypes, albeit in a ridiculous way? And is his audience clever enough to get the joke?
Baron Cohen claims that this movie was made to confront homophobia in a clever manner. Suffice to say, he does achieve it on a small level. This Austrian fashion-lover he has created, complete with bleached tips and booty shorts, is so over the top that one couldn't possibly mistake him for anything else but a blatant stereotype of a homosexual. Hilariously, Bruno seeks help from some Christian "gay converters" (who decide he needs more serious intervention) who preach their rhetoric on the Bible being able to turn even the most flaming of gays into a weight lifting straight man. The film also has some other hilarious bits where he goes camping with some stereotypical lower-class southern men and refers to their posse as being "just like the Sex and the City Girls", much to their chagrin. Bruno, at one point, also joins the army but tries to add some pizazz to uniform with his own silk scarf telling the drill sargeant that he felt the standard issue outfit was a little too "matchy matchy".
In addition to homophobia, Bruno also tries to satire to world obsession with celebrity, the idea of involvement in humanitarian aid as a status symbol, racism and even the problems in the Middle East. Although the actor is Jewish himself, as his character he sits down with a Palestinian and an Israeli, cluelessly discussing the situation between the two. He jokingly confuses Hamas with hummus and at least gets a laugh out of the opposing sides. The character even pokes fun at showbiz parents, asking one mother if her 30lb daughter would lose 10lbs for an upcoming photoshoot and if it would be okay if her daughter appeared as an SS baby putting a Jewish baby into an oven. Unflinchingly, the mother agrees to all of his crazy demands, but one has to wonder whether all of these people in the film were unsuspecting bystanders or paid actors.
Reaching An Audience
Much of the trouble with this film is the audience it attracts. Most of Baron Cohen's avid fans are straight men in their 20s and 30s. While he may have intended to hold up a mirror to their behavior and ground in homophobic tendencies (such as homophobic slurs like 'pansy' or calling something 'gay', which have become part of the culture whether or not the people uttering them are actually homophobic), are these the type of people who will get the joke or as GLAAD suggested, feel vilified or strengthen some homophobic attitudes? The outcome of that will largely depend on the viewer and their personal experiences, although young straight men are pointed out in the film as being the main perpetrators of homophobia. But maybe that's the point. In a way, it forces people to deal with it, whether they like it or not.
Bruno tries to make light of the very serious issue of homophobia. While it does achieve this somewhat, it does so in a manner that is so over the top that it is completely unrealistic. The film depicts many men as uncomfortable with flagrant homosexual antics, but its hard to say whether these unsuspecting subjects would be comfortable with the same ridiculous situations if a straight couple were involved. Its difficult to say what this provokes, since the character of Bruno is so ridiculous that whether he be gay or straight, he is going to garner some sort of reaction. But the very idea that any of these subjects were ignorant enough to take him seriously again poses the question of whether or not these individuals knew something was up or they were truly dumb enough to accept this ridiculous person as being for real.
But this film does provide something for everyone. Those who are fans of "gross-out" comedy will enjoy it simply for the fact that there are some genuinely gross parts (such as objects placed in rectums and somewhat graphic, although blurred out, sexual acts between both homosexuals and heterosexuals). People who enjoy one liners will not feel short-changed in this film which is chock full of them such as telling a Muslim extremist that "Osama bin Laden looks like a dirty wizard or homeless Santa Claus" or having Bruno "mistakenly" refer to an army official as "Mein Fuhrer".
Does it Work?
Although outlandish, to some degree, the idea behind Baron Cohen's Bruno is coming to fruition. While art holds up a mirror to society, Baron Cohen shows society a distorted fun-house version of itself. But perhaps that's the goal. Maybe people need something so ridiculous to get them talking about something a little more close to home. Or maybe the very act of debating whether or not his character reinforces or debases homosexual stereotypes is exactly what the aim of the film was: to get people talking about serious issues like homophobia. So in one vein, it does work, he's got everyone talking at least.
Sacha Baron Cohen as Bruno
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