BRUNO Rating: Totes Worth Seeing

I had been anxious to see Bruno especially after the debates on whether or not the film was homophobic. The first half of the movie focused on Bruno the character; the rest of the film centered around people’s reaction to Bruno.  I personally didn’t find the film to be homophobic. In fact, the movie concluded with a pro-homosexual sentiment (Elton John, Chris Martin, Bono and Sting singing and Snoop rapping “He’s gay and that’s OK”)

My pants hat is off to Sacha Baron Cohen. He made some brazen moves as Bruno, the gay Austrian D-lister. While he made me cry in laughter in some scenes, I was scared for Cohen’s life in others. I was more scared when Bruno went camping/hunting with three southern “gentlemen” than when he was with a “terrorist leader” (actually an ex-terrorist leader).

Is the movie real?
The film was more a mockumentary than a documentary; A collection of sketches with a mix of hired actors, non-acting “interview subjects,” and duped celebrities. For instance,  Paula Abdul was under the impression she’d be going on a Japanese game show and spectators of the cage fight were purposefully pissed off before taping.  Smart editing and false pretenses may have shown participant’s reactions unfairly but it certainly added to the film’s entertainment value (that’s why we went to see the film, right).

Overall
I was disappointed that the flick seemed to end abruptly. I’ve enjoyed watching Sacha Baron Cohen do interviews and attend movie premieres as Bruno almost more than the movie itself.  The film is funny - go see it for its entertainment value but don’t overlook the larger picture. Homophobia is still very much present today. Seeing this movie and “laughing with the gays” requires an understanding that Bruno is an extreme character and isn’t an accurate portrayal of the entire gay community. I’m afraid that too many people use Bruno as confirmation of their prejudice. Hopefully people will come out of watching this movie not just entertained but with a better understanding in the importance of equality and human rights.