http://www.mininova.org/tor/2970781
Many critics’ reviews would compare Sasha Baron Cohen’s latest movie with the previous one, Borat. Of course there are similarities between both pieces, they were both obviously created by the same man, and there are similar structure forms of many hilarious sketches – that many said would be more appropriate for youtube and that this is not a real movie. In art, there is no “real movie” concept. Either you belong to one type of films or you don’t, and this the real issue - critics may not have enough categories to classify some films. Bruno is an amazingly hilarious piece of the 7th art. It is always surprising, striking and creative. Sometimes this comes in the form of textual jokes such as when Bruno is asking two stone-heads from a PR company what topics are up today in order to attract camera time, the girls mention Darfur and Bruno asks what’s next Darfur, what’s Darfive?
Sasha got a real pair to get into an ultimate fight championship ring and face a redneck public while french kissing his partner in the film; or when Bruno gets into an ultra-orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood and has to escape so as not to be beaten up by an angry mob. In another occasion he met what seemed to be a Al-Akhsa Brigade Martyrs member and asked him who could kidnap him. Later on Sasha got sued by this person he interviewed, who is some kind of non-profit organization worker, and got real-life threats by the real terrorist organization that this worker was supposed to belong to.
As I see it, Sasha targets in his film – first and foremost – the gay community, not leaving any stereotype in place. All of us know most gays are not that provocative, wearing huge platforms and being so effeminate. The second target would be the homophobic people, or anyone feeling that way, be it left or right wingers, westerns and easterners, Catholics and Jews alike.
I couldn’t help myself from thinking of Zoolander and of Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends. The first one also focuses on a comedy around the figure of a well known gay hair stylist and the second one, around a weird voyage into the real far left behind America, similar to the one to which the two gay “curators” belong to.
When contemplating how to rate this movie, again we face the same dilemma of rating a movie filled with violence, unethical behavior, materialism, the types of behavior that can serve as a highway to hell for persons, if hell exists. And in another part we have 2 sequences of a guy’s penis rotating and dancing, I don’t think that anyone’s libido could be aroused from these two sequences, maybe not even homosexuals. Well we know well the hypocrisy involved in these ratings.
It is ok if my kid is filled with hatred and violence from a Schwarzenegger movie, but it is not ok for him to see a male or female genitalia, which all humans have. I will let a psychiatrist deal with this enigma while he/she cries out “clear” after giving a well-earned dose of electricity to the people responsible for these ratings.
www.whentheshipcomesin.com is a movies blog and a documentaries blog for films, stand-up and docs critics, commentaries, reviews and thus spoilers as well. The language of this movies blog is standard broken English, don't feel offended by it or if you do, send me your corrections and I will publish them. Feel free to send me any commentary, article, critic or anything else;