Brüno (Movie Review)
- Thread starter Maet
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I saw it, and I thought it was even slightly better than Borat, if only for the fact that it was better paced throughout. Borat really slowed down towards the end, while Bruno was sending me into fits of laughter throughout the whole thing. The talking penis was amazing, as were the two Gay convertors, the second of whom was passive-aggressively criticizing women.
All in all, a great movie, and a great review, Maet. Keep it up.
All in all, a great movie, and a great review, Maet. Keep it up.
I saw this with my dad and little brother which is a far more awkward situation than you can imagine. At least my mom wasn't there...Shapsters said:
If it was the one instance where I used the phrase "sex tap," I just fixed it to "sex tape." If not, I hate the fact that seemingly no amount of proofreads manages to squash every niggling error and I would like you to tell me exactly what mistake you noticed.Shapsters said:
Additionally, thanks to everyone for all the comments.
Good stuff, although I find it slightly odd to criticise a Cohen production for a lack of discreet conduct. I see what you're getting at with his comparative familiarity compared to Borat, but that can work both for and against it. A strange element of the Ali G show was that some of the British youth culture that was being sent up actually started unironically imitating him, taking him as seriously as his medium allowed. Of course, Bruno plays with a completely different stereotype and associated prejudices, but exaggerated gay caricatures are common in modern media, so I find it perfectly understandable that Bruno is forced to become even more extreme than his predecessors.
Three nit-picks that struck me as I read the review, if you actually want to know.
I was reading an immaculately written novel just a bit earlier, so I'm probably just being extremely critical of any sentence that is less that perfectly weighted. Excellent review though, as the fact that I can't even adequately express my main, trivial complaint should demonstrate.
Three nit-picks that struck me as I read the review, if you actually want to know.
I'm pretty sure the syntax there gives a different meaning to what you're trying to convey.
Purely aesthetic quibble here, just curious why you omitted the "the". Sentence just seems to sound that little bit more rounded with it included, although I could just be betraying my preference for cliches.
I have quite a lot of problems with that sentence, for reasons I'm finding hard to pin down. The jump from North Americans to the inclusive "we" offending my shrivelled national pride is about the only one I can clearly pick out. Might be passive voice there, although I'm not confident enough in my grammar to make a strong claim.
I was reading an immaculately written novel just a bit earlier, so I'm probably just being extremely critical of any sentence that is less that perfectly weighted. Excellent review though, as the fact that I can't even adequately express my main, trivial complaint should demonstrate.
Great review.. as always. We'll miss you while your out
Yes, and you should see borat too. It should be experiencedTears of Blood said:
Excellent review my hat is off yo you. I liked Bruno but only after i left the theatre. The shock value is almost too much in this sometimes and i have the feeling to a lot of people the message will get lost in the penises and "censored" sex scenes. While i was not turned off by these i could see where homophobes would completely lose the message and just waltz right on out.
I have to completely disagree. Borat was successful because he coaxed confessions from people through feigned ignorance, and in doing so also managed to give a caustically intelligent commentary on the opinions held by various groups. Bruno falls completely flat here. While there are moments of this, like in the scenes where Bruno asks what 'hollywood parents' would let their children do for a job, they tend to be few and far between. Instead, the majority of the film seems to be fishing for reactions using extremely aggressive nudity/homosexuality.Maet said:
You can't provide any commentary if your premise starts with climbing into another man's tent at 3:30 am wearing nothing but a condom. Or showing a group of people several minutes of a full-frontal, close up, bouncing penis. Or tearing off your clothes and dancing for Ron Paul. At that point there is no homophobia to comment on, because the reactions are simply from being shocked or offended in general. It's like watching a feature film of people reacting to goatse.
In the end, I found that the movie simply tried so hard to be offensive that it ended up just being kind of sad. I was hoping for something 'smarter' to be hidden under the character, and it just wasn't there this time.
Whatever you do, don't see this film with anyone that you would be uncomfortable watching anything with. Assume that the contents of the film are such that anyone who could possibly be offended by anything, will be. Probably in the first 15 minutes.Cama Zots said:
I'd definitely suggest seeing Borat, and at least taking a look at Ali G. But unless you really consider yourself a huge fan, I'd take a pass at Bruno (or at the very least, wait until it's on video and just rent it).Tears of Blood said:
That was an excellent review... you basically said all you needed to, and cemented my idea of what Bruno would be. I knew it was going to be, for lack of a better term, gay high society Borat. Thing is, I'm not sure if I'll go to see it in theaters now... it sounds like it has less of the hilariously-awkward moments that made Borat so good and more just plain old awkward moments.
Eh... we'll see.
Eh... we'll see.
Good review there!
Watched it with my girlfriend and less than ten other people in the movie theatre (huge place but in the middle of a wednesday afternoon), and lots of fun was had, despite the flaws mentioned in the review.
Cohen is a very brave man, and his ability to display the shallowness and stupidity of people makes for a lot of fun. He's overplaying a lot of course, but that's just good in a setting like this.
I definetely recommend it, but stear clear of going with sensitive people or your parents, it's probably a bit too offensive for that, more so than Borat because of the sexual references.
Watched it with my girlfriend and less than ten other people in the movie theatre (huge place but in the middle of a wednesday afternoon), and lots of fun was had, despite the flaws mentioned in the review.
Cohen is a very brave man, and his ability to display the shallowness and stupidity of people makes for a lot of fun. He's overplaying a lot of course, but that's just good in a setting like this.
I definetely recommend it, but stear clear of going with sensitive people or your parents, it's probably a bit too offensive for that, more so than Borat because of the sexual references.