Echoes of Borat...

''I am going to be the biggest Austrian celebrity since Hitler.''

Flamboyant Austrian fashionista Brüno takes his show to America.

Sacha Baron Cohen: Brüno

Firstly to begin with, I must say I praised Cohen's Borat at uncovering the true underbelly of America, it is extremely hard to do the same here because of the obvious shock value of what he's playing out has been done before. Bruno ends up being a recycling project on speed, the time certainly flies that's for sure.
Much like its predecessor, Brüno, begins in his native country to showcase the reasons behind his journey to the USA. After being shunned from the fashion community in Austria he decides to do what is the next logical step—live in LA and become a celebrity. It isn't as easy as he expected, so after a failed try at acting and a missed opportunity to be a talk show host, he heads to the Middle East to weigh in on peacekeeping attempts. A Kenyan child later, Brüno finds himself back in America, now realizing that to be famous he must be straight.

You will once again be surprised at some of the people he dupes into believing he is a real person, (a bewildered Ron Paul), as well as not so shocked, (Paula Abdul anyone? How great is it watching her talk about humanitarianism while sitting on a Mexican acting like a chair?). Uncomfortable is an understatement when it comes to describing a viewing session of this film because you'd be comatose not to be even the slightest bit squeamish. Cohen is fearless in his activities and unfaltering in his accent—equal parts effeminate and German, (is there a difference?). To go into the Middle East and recruit former leaders of both Israel and Palestine to sing to and have hold hands is one thing, but to go to a current terrorist group leader and call Osama Bin Laden a "dirty wizard/homeless Santa Claus" and not expect to get backlash is a completely different thing. As for going hunting with three burly Southerners and entering their tents naked … well that's just insane...albeit, it takes balls.
Everyone is made a joke out of in this adventure, this Brüno, much like Borat achieved...Jews, Muslims, Gays, Nazis, celebrities, charities, blacks, whites, religion and the list goes on. It all depends totally, on your sense of humour.

''You're king Osama looks like a kind of dirty wizard, or a homeless Santa!''

I liked the jokes mostly, even if they were horrendously insensitive. Calling Autism funny, Africa a country, does elicit knee-jerk laughs, which turn into feelings of remorse before ultimately realizing that, yes, it was bad yet compellingly humourous. Cohen goes way too far in many instances: a bike-powered dildo, talking penis, and asking a swinger, in the act of sex with someone else, to look into his eyes are just a few. For this reason, I cannot recommend the film to anyone … seriously, anyone. You never truly know how much someone can take and a film like Brüno not only tests that boundary but also surpasses it over and over again.

What is by far the most incomprehensible thing, however, is the candid view on America that has been captured. It is not wrong to call Cohen a genius in his methods to manipulate people into thinking they are safe and among kindred spirits in moral ambiguity. Watching parents virtually sell their souls and children's bodies for a quick cash grab is unbelievable. Not only do these adults willingly say yes to any question Brüno asks them, "Is your child okay with being photographed on a crucifix? How is your child with dead animals? Does your child like lit phosphorus?" but they oftentimes pause, think about what has been posed, and still agree. Some people will do anything to become famous, hell some people will do anything to tehir children to make them famous. And then there are the priests who do Holy work, by converting gays into heterosexuals. The first pastor preaches what to do and not, but it is the second that astonishes with what he says. Speaking as "we" he basically admits to how he is truly GAY, but has been living the lie by tolerating women, even though they are so uninspiring and annoying to him. The worst part of it all is that the people Cohen attacks are real.

The shock value dissipates as the film goes on and unfortunately wasn't necessarily high to begin with. Television being inundated with reality garbage and exposing us to the morons out there we have generally been shielded from has desensitized us. Even watching Borat has desensitized us because the fresh originality has long since vanished. But, while the film may not hold up as an entity unto itself, the questions it raises, the truth we want to so desperately believe doesn't exist, come through with crystal clear clarity. Sacha Baron Cohen knows our secrets and exposes them. His vehicle for such truths may not be as conventional or enjoyable as some may want, but the message is there nonetheless.

''We have chosen your baby to be dressed as a Nazi Officer, pushing a wheelbarrow, with a Jewish baby, into an oven!''

6/10