Bruno review

[Westside Steve]

Bruno

Universal

R 88 min

 

 

Well friends, my policy is to never read others reviews (save the blurbs on the ads) until I’ve already rated and judged a movie. Sometimes I’m surprised to see the big boys didn’t like something as much as I did but more often I’m shocked to see these guys fawning over a gigantic pile of crap.

So my review is finished before this foreword, and shall we say there’s now more reason not to take Owen Gleiberman, Roger Ebert and Peter Travers seriously.

Gang BRUNO is easily among the three worst comedies I’ve had the misfortune to sit through, joining DUMB AND DUMBER and CADDYSHACK 2 in that dubious trio.

If you recall I wasn’t a big fan of comic actor Sacha Baron Cohen’s faux documentary BORAT and BRUNO is the same premise only worse and more hackneyed.

Let’s say that if BORAT was a turdburger on a Kaiser roll then BRUNO would be a double patty turdburger; hold the bun.

Here’s the premise.

Comedian Cohen dons the persona of Bruno, an overtly gay “celebrity” who calls himself the “voice of Austrian youth” who has come to the US to claim worldwide stardom.

There’s a meeting with, ahem, somebody supposed to be a Hollywood agent who hooks Bruno up with a TV exec and a focus group. The gag here is the reaction shots of the “ordinary” people who watch an outrageously vulgar show.

As a matter of fact that’s pretty much the whole film; Bruno behaving in a disgusting manner and regular folks being grossed out.

As Bruno decides to go straight there are encounters with groups selected to help him “butch up” including some country boys on a hunting trip, a couple National Guard officers, a southern minister trying to oust the gayness through faith and a swingers group.

Problem is that none of the situations ring true, and even if they were authentic, aren’t all that funny if at all. All there is here is over the top vulgarity that will amuse few outside the “two girls one cup” fans. There were actually about two and a half mild chuckles in the whole thankfully brief 88 minutes. Then again that’s a laugh riot compared to the other two members of the bottom three club.

So thanks to them (and the brief frontal nudity in the swingers scene) I’ll award BRUNO a spot just a few inches above the cellar floor.

 

F+

 

WSS

 

westsidesteve@aol.com