I can’t recall when I laughed harder in the theater than I did when we went to see Borat. That was one outrageous comedy. However, the problem with being outrageous is when you have to follow-up with your next film. The natural inclination is to be even more outrageous which can result in a film rather than being funny and thought provoking, is simply crude and embarrassing. Such is the fate that befell Sacha Baron Cohen with Bruno, his not so successful follow-up to his outrageously successful Borat. Bruno gives a whole new meaning to the phrase no holds barred comedy and not, unfortunately, in a good way.
Film
While Bruno certainly has a couple of funny moments, it has far too few of them to be a worthwhile film. While there is no denying that Sacha Baron Cohen can really become the characters in his film to the point that he is not recognizable to those he attempts to mock, Bruno has absolutely nothing going for it other than sheer outrageousness.
In Bruno, Sasha Baron Cohen takes on the role of Bruno, a gay Austrian man that immigrates to Los Angeles seeking fame and fortune after he loses his job as a TV fashionista in Austria after he goes crazy disrupting fashion runway shows in Milan. When he arrives in Los Angeles, he is able to obtain a pilot with CBS where he interviews celebrities like Paula Abdul, while they sit on Mexican laborers acting as chairs, and even as a serving table when a naked man is wheeled out covered with finger food that is Paula’ s cue to bolt and run away as fast as she can. He ends his show with him swinging his (?) genitals to and fro which unquestionably shocks the test audience for the pilot.
Bruno keeps on going, trying to seduce former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul during an interview in a hotel suite, to seeking to assistance of a preacher to turn straight as well as a group of swingers to so he can learn how to have sex with a woman. The problem with the film is that there is nothing here other than shock value, with outrageous sex acts by the boat load.
While I would guess that Mr. Cohen is attempting to ridicule homophobia in the film, it just seems to me that he is doing just the opposite in ridiculing the gay community with non stop examples of the most outrageous people and practices he can find or imagine. Rather than being funny and thought provoking, Bruno is just crude and thoughtless and really not worth your time. I would recommend that you skip this one entirety. Hopefully, Mr. Cohen’s next film will be a lot better than Bruno or he may not get many more chances as Bruno is that bad.
Video
I was just about as disappointed in the video quality of this release as I was with the film. The image quality varies throughout the film. The color palette is natural if a bit subdued and undersaturated. Black levels are very mediocre as well. Detail and overall clarity are well below what I have come to expect from Blu-ray titles in general and Universal titles in particular. I addition, the low light scenes are plagued with video noise which is clearly visible from normal viewing distances. There is really little that I liked about the look of this film, which is just as disappointing as the subject matter of the film.
Audio
Surprisingly, the audio quality on Bruno is much better than the video quality and is another fine example of the quality which I have come to expect from DTS HD Master Audio encodes. The quality here is not the sound design per se as it is a rather front heavy mix. What really surprised me about the audio presentation was the overall fidelity which is simply outstanding, with a smooth, open and detailed sound with excellent transparency and imaging and knock your socks off bass response and dynamics which are especially noticeable during the musical tracks in the film. Don’t go expecting an immersive feel and aggressive use of the surrounds as you will be disappointed. However, if you are like me and appreciate excellent overall audio fidelity in our films, I have no doubt that you will be quite pleased with the audio on Bruno.
Special Features
The extras included with the Blu-ray release consist of an hour of alternative, deleted and extended scenes not shown in theaters which are of the same dubious quality as the rest of the film. All are presented in HD however. Also included is an enhanced video commentary with Sacha Baron Cohen and director Larry Charles on select scenes in the film. Also included is an interview with Larry Robinson, the Hollywood agent hired to represent Bruno in the film. The release is BD-Live enabled and copies with a digital copy compatible with Macs and PCs.
Final Thoughts
On the heels of Borat, I was really expecting a lot more from this film. However, all that the film delivers is mindless and senseless rudeness and crudeness that is neither funny nor interesting. Check this film out if you are into crude and base humor. If you aren’t, like me, you should skip this release entirety.
You were to generous with the film score…lol.
I loved Borat, but this movie was a complete bore to me.
Too bad. I’ve heard the same negative notes across the board about this film. Even though there is a little known Ali G movie out there, maybe Cohen can revisit success at the box office with going back to his original character that started it all. Cheh kit!