One of the worst things that can happen to a ‘film-lover’ is when you are really looking forward to a film but are then greatly disappointed when you get to see it because it simply doesn’t live up to your expectations… or in this case the hype surrounding it. I absolutely adored ‘Borat’… it had me in stitches, but unfortunately ‘Bruno’ only managed to raise a couple of chuckles from me. ‘Bruno’ simply doesn’t live up to the brilliance of ‘Borat’.
Bruno (Sacha Baron Cohen) is a gay fashion reporter in Austria, but he loses his job after a ‘mishap’ at a fashion show. His boyfriend, Diesel (Clifford Banagale) dumps him and Bruno finds himself heading to America (where he plans on becoming rich and famous) with Lutz (Gustaf Hammarsten), his assistant’s assistant who also has romantic feelings for Bruno. While in America Bruno will do whatever it takes to becomes famous, whether that involves making a sex tape, a television or even changing his ways. Bruno’s adventures see him crossing paths with celebs including Paula Abdul and Harrison Ford, as well as politicians such as Ron Paul.
It is a real shame that ‘Bruno’ simply doesn’t compare to ‘Borat’ because it does truly have potential. The biggest problem seems to be that ‘Bruno’ just doesn’t have the ‘shock’ scenes that ‘Borat’ had… in fact at times you really do get the feeling that the filmmakers were holding back, and didn’t reach the dizzy heights they should have. It’s almost as if director Larry Charles forgot about the Indie feel he managed to bring out in ‘Borat’ and instead he tries to put a load of Hollywood gloss onto ‘Bruno’… something that simply doesn’t work. It is also obvious that Charles has deliberately held back on a lot of Cohen’s gags because he was worried about the problems that surfaced after the release of ‘Borat’.
The one person you feel really sorry for is Sacha Baron Cohen. He is like a fish swimming around in shallow water, he has the strength to make ‘Bruno’ a truly funny film but you can tell that he is being severely held back. The moments in the film that actually do make you laugh are all thanks to his doing. His ability to think on his feet and make a joke of anything is the only thing that keeps this film afloat at all. It is just a real pity to see Cohen floundering in a film like this when you know that he has so much better to offer.
‘Bruno’ may be okay for the odd laugh here and there but it simply doesn’t compare to the brilliance of ‘Borat’. Let’s hope the next time Cohen makes one of these films he goes with his own natural humor and doesn’t let anyone hold him back.
Year: 2009
Director: Larry Charles
Stars: Sacha Baron Cohen, Clifford Banagale, Gustaf Hammarsten
Classification: R
Runtime: 81 mins
Rating: 