Friday, April 3, 2009

First Trailer For Bruno Hits The Interwebs


Sasha Baron Cohen, that mischievous imp responsible for the hilarious and outrageous hit film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, brings another of his signature characters to the big screen. In Bruno, hitting theaters this summer, Cohen portrays a flamboyant (to put it mildly) Austrian television host covering the world of high fashion who comes to America to wreak havoc on the runways and generally whip a little gayness in the faces of everyday citizens across the country.

Bruno's segments on Da Ali G Show (where Cohen's characters each originated) struck an interesting mix: satirical social commentary shining a spotlight on some of the blatant homophobic behavior that occurs in this country, alternating with the more innocuous ritual of poking fun at the superficial and often vacuous fashion industry (witness my all-time favorite Bruno interview, which I've posted below). It will be interesting to see how that mix plays out in the bigscreen version. No doubt the film will also test mainstream audiences' tolerance for explicit gay sexual content; the first cut of the film has been hit with the dreaded NC-17 rating by the MPAA.

Bruno is due out in theaters on July 10th.

2 comments:

Michael G said...

There is already talk among festival programmers about BRUNO and how its LGBT content may be more negative than positive. I'm sure there is some relevant social commentary in there somewhere but the film is probably one of those that simply use all the gay jokes and stereotypes to boost their laugh-o-meter readings. I never liked BORAT to be honest. It was more painful to watch for me because I hate putting people on the spot and making fun of them -- without them knowing it. It's a friggin' setup! How different is that from policemen posing as gay guys in a cruisy park? Oh what we do to squeeze laughter out of people. But I can't wait what BRUNO is all about. The NC-17 rating will probably boost its popularity even more.

radioman said...

This is the first I've heard about this film. I agree with Michael somewhat about BORAT...much of the laughter in that movie made you feel cheap and guilty afterward, and yet, at times, you couldn't help but laugh...perhaps out of shock more than anything. Having just watched the clip from BRUNO, do I assume correctly that Bruno is interviewing an actual person in the fashion industry and completely putting him on with his stupid questions? I hope that this movie doesn't paint us in a bad light, just for the benefit of cheap laughs...but...it wouldn't surprise me.