Considering just how uproariously funny and excruciatingly outrageous the footage of “Brüno” that screened at SXSW was — not to mention how it went over with audiences; like a carpetbomb of positive blog buzz — it’s almost shocking to discover just how tame and forgettable the laughs of the final film product are.
While frequently diverting, marginally amusing and occasionally just plain funny, “Brüno” also contains ephemeral laughs that do not possess the hysterically subversive or arresting qualities hinted at in Austin back in March. While we hate to endorse the Wrap, and its rumors of “gay-friendly” endings, Sacha Baron Cohen’s third feature-length film based on one of his “Da Ali-G Show” characters, does feel compromised on some levels. While somewhat scandalous, the comedy feels safe and not as disarming or sharp as the incisive social commentary hilarity of “Borat.” But it’s not because the filmmakers reigned themselves in, rather it’s largely due to lesser ambitions and deeper obligations to narrative. Unlike “Borat,” which didn’t try to hide the fact that it was a collection of sketches around a loose premise, “Brüno,” tries harder to tether to a story, and sometimes at the expense of humor. It also feels all-too-familiar.
The story here starts with Brüno as we know him from “Da Ali G Show,” a well-known Austrian fashion reporter who is fired and excommunicated from the fashion industry after a disastrous stunt at an Italian runway show (the infamous incident captured by various international outlets, precipitated from Brüno’s all-Velcro outfit that grafts itself onto everything and causes mayhem backstage and on the catwalk).
Dishonored and dumped by his pygmy boyfriend — who he is seen earlier having wild gay sex with; think slingshot-enabling buttsex and champagne bottle in places they shouldn’t be — Brüno decides to become famous and heads to the United States (wait, wasn’t this sort of the exact premise of “Borat”). The only loyal member of his entourage is Paul, his assistant’s assistant who he barely remembers. The two travel to L.A in hopes of attracting fame and fortune of course up to this point, much of what we’re describing has mostly been all staged drama with actors (Paul and the pygmy bf). It’s much harder to dupe innocent bystanders these days and much more of “Brüno” feels scripted and therefore not quite as electrically charged with that uneasy element of danger and surprise.
In the U.S., they try multiple failing tactics to ensure attention, including adopting a black African celeb accessory, err, child ala Madonna and try to launch a TV show with lo-rent celebs (Paula Abdul and LaToya Jackson who are fooled for all of 5 seconds of screen time; there’s also that segment where Brüno is cast as an extra on “Medium” starring Patricia Arquette which brings guffaws, but feels like a funny, “gotcha” sketch).
While the story is far more premeditated than we’re used to, it paradoxically feels like it’s also being written on the fly. Brüno then fires his clearly enamored assistant and attempts to go straight as clearly “all the top celebs are hetero” (Tom Cruise and John Travolta are the prime examples, har har). It’s corny one-line zingers like this that riddle much of the attempts at comedy and there’s not enough of that hard-to-watch squirm-inducing humor we all love to watch and shriek at through semi-shielded fingers. The film plods along like this with muted and mixed results though the straight-Dave cage match section (articulated fully by us here), is admittedly still, wickedly delicious. But even when the film hits its targets dead-on, the laughs aren’t unforgettable belly aches. The water cooler factor compared to “Borat,” will be decidedly low.
All this talk of stronger narrative, is relative of course. “Brüno”s story is still largely a collection of gags, but one that’s just not as successful or funny as its predecessor. Sadly, for a film arguably more politically charged than the one about the Kazakhstani simpleton, it says far less about homophobia and America than the striking ignorance and intolerance revealed in “Borat.” The emphasis mostly seems to lie with Brüno, the gay buffoon, rather than bigoted society around him, and this is one of the key differences and problems compared to ‘Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious …’ Also, what’s up with the lack of mention of Larry Charles? Charles’ name was all over “Borat,” but you’d be hard pressed to find any press that reminds you he’s also the director here. Maybe it’s because this one feels much more like the Sacha Baron Cohen show.
Even at a scant 84 minutes, “Brüno” has few everlasting jokes and likely will not create the rippling culture-shock of its antecedent. Whether that’s because expectations are higher, “Borat” inured us to militant offensive comedy, or even SXSW muted the experience is arguable, but the real likelihood is that “Brüno” in final film form is just not that funny, nor sustainable in quality for feature-film length running time.
One of the key qualities missing from footage at SXSW is the sheer relentlessness. When simply previewing scenes, Baron Cohen and co. could eschew story and simply bombard the audience with scathing humor. In their truncated forms, the same scenes feel hurried and less effective. Plus that element of uncompromising humor that goes on for too long is jettisoned. It’s as if the filmmakers fell in love with each little scene and decided to give them all screen time rather than pummel the viewer with one particularly uncomfortable moment.
What exactly went wrong with “Brüno” will probably take a bit further examination, but the bottom line is it feels like a trifle, does not possess an air of danger, nor is it anywhere as biting or political as it should be.
One point of fault is perhaps Sacha Baron Cohen’s relative overexposure and our awareness and understanding of his stealthy gags that either feels muzzled or too familiar. Where as many of the scenes in “Borat” felt all too magnetically real, sequences here feel staged. Yes, the overweight African American hooker in “Borat” was an actress, but she didn’t feel like one. Clearly the hooker brought to a swingers party – part of the heterosexualizing the Brüno character attempt to undergo— and it undermines the humor. Another scene with a fortune teller and Brüno’s need to connect with his deceased boyfriend Milli Vanilli suicide case is funny — Brüno explicitly pantomimes what he would do if he was present, including copious amounts of fellatio, ball suckling and arse to mouth cleansing. But the humor is slightly undercut by the nagging and debatable notion that the clairvoyant is actually an actor and therefore not as taken aback (or mortified) as one would like
The toothless and with-a-whimpering conclusion — that features a “We Are The World”-like sing-along with Bono, Chris Martin, Snoop Dogg, Elton John, Slash, but not Madonna as erroneously reported by the U.K. press — is also simply anticlimactic and unsatisfying. Not to mention it feels tacked on and tossed together. A disappointing sign-off to an underwhelming film. [C+]
Btw, if you’re curious, “Brüno” comes out on July 10th and embargoes were lifted today.