Flash Reviews: Brüno [movies]

Brüno (2009)
Comedy/Cultural Parody; USA
81 minutes

---

It took me awhile to finally get around to seeing this movie - mostly because I'd already seen "Da Ali G Show" years ago, been underwhelmed by "Borat" and unimpressed by the trailers. "Brüno" was a lot better than I expected though.

Of course, it wasn't all laughs. There were jokes that fell flat or felt played out, but there were also parts that were just too LOL-worthy to pass up. And best of all, it's only an hour and twenty minutes, so it doesn't get the chance to ever get too tedious.

I heard through the grapevine that a lot of gays were offended by this movie because it portrays gay stereotypes. The only conclusion I can come to on that is that they never bothered to watch the movie or any of Sacha Baron Cohen's other projects. Or maybe they're just as ignorant as the people he parodies in this film. Either way, they totally missed the point. What's funny about Cohen's comedy isn't the stereotypes he employs, but the reactions those stereotypes elicit from people. You're supposed to laugh at how uncomfortable these people become when someone they think is a flaming queer is gyrating his crotch in hotpants mere inches from their faces - it's like Hitler himself is holding their first-born child's freshly skinned corpse over a tub of acid. They're stupid and that's funny.

It's also funny that people who deem themselves qualified to run for president, who presume to represent the people of America and their interests are so easily hoodwinked by a man who has been famous all over the world for over a decade now. I'm sorry, but if you don't know who Ali G is in the year 2009 then you simply aren't relevant. What if Ahmadinejad throws you some "rezpekt" (*snap)? You're not even gonna know what he's talking about and you'll make a fool out of us in front of the whole world. Maybe Ron Paul has been too busy worrying about the Gold Standard to bother realizing what year it is, but surely someone in his entourage has flipped on a TV in the last 10 years and seen enough to go "oh hey, I recognize that dude!" But no...

Give this some time if you're into: All things S.B.C. (not the phone company), laughing at ignorance, close ups of penises flopping in every direction