Bruno

As the most highly anticipated film of the year, Bruno is certainly one of a kind. Where shall I possibly begin? In the first place, so much of it has been splashed across previews and the endless Bruno interviews, the finished product is appallingly less than the sum of its parts. The scenes that haven't been previously shown are obviously part of a conspiracy to shove as much porn as possible into the viewer's screaming eyeballs in the form of Sacha Baron Cohen doing acrobatics with his genitals, simulating hard gay sex, enjoying hard gay sex, not enjoying harder straight sex...this could possibly be the first porn movie with an R rating. I thought porn was supposed to be more enjoyable than this, and with hotter people (I suppose Sacha Baron Cohen's mildly cute in his wackjob sort of way).

Since the porn takes over most of the movie, it's hard to say how effective the rest is. The general feeling is that Bruno is working harder for the laughs than Borat ever did, with too many shticks. One can't help feeling sorry for all of the poor masses captured in their moment of infamy (mothers who'll do anything to pimp out their kids, Lohan-style). I can certainly see myself spewing out something mortifying on camera (or just sitting there red as a beet and wishing that Bruno would impale himself on a very sharp object), but the jokes are much less humorous here. While Borat was humorous and lovable, Bruno is a bit of a self-involved prick and a dandy. Instead of feeling disgusted at the people he was around, I found myself wishing he'd occasionally drop into a hole.

Maybe it's one of those things that can only be done once. When Borat set the bar, everything else was bound to be derivative and much more mundane. Not only that, but one would wish that Mr. Cohen would spend a bit more time working on the actual film instead of gallivanting around promoting the film, about as subtle as Bruno himself.

Comedy is one of those strange things. Should we be laughing at the misfortune of others (however ineptly they're portrayed)? Of course, humor goes a long way in making certain unpalatable points heard, but is it always appropriate? Not sure that mixing humus and hamas is the key to recognizing the futility of the Middle Eastern conflict. Nor does gratuitous gay sex give me any insight at all. Does the very action of laughing at Bruno paint us as crass and vulgar, every bit as unwholesome as the dumbos populating his film? Or does the very existence of the character show us how low modern society has stooped? Maybe I'm missing the point, but I'm not laughing.