Brüno

I remember pretending to go to sleep some nights and then waiting for my parents to go to bed. After the coast was clear I would sneak downstairs and watch HBO. One of my favorite shows, besides 'Real Sex', was 'Da Ali G Show'. I still try and catch it whenever its on now and it still is classic and timeless.

I had no idea how they were going to pull it off but I saw 'Borat' in its opening weekend and I, along with the rest of the audience, laughed from start to finish. Borat was pretty close to perfect and definitely engaging and re-watchable. It was fresh and it was nice to see a movie that did not have a tired, recycled plot.

It is hard to watch 'Bruno' without making comparisons to Bruno's first carnation on 'Da Ali G Show'. I was expecting something along the lines of Borat. I went into this film with the same hopes and expectations of 'Borat' and honestly the magic just was not there.

The beauty of 'Borat' was in the reactions of the people interviewed. People were intolerant, racist and sexist. 'Borat' was a complete study of American ignorance and a great sociological experiment.

There was ample opportunity for Cohen to capture this feeling again. Homophobia is a big issue today and I was really hoping to see some kind of exploration into the subject.

It was there but not in the way I expected. It felt, to me at least, that Bruno was there to simply make everyone around him uncomfortable. This was funny the first time but it got a little stale. It would have been nice to see more in terms of intolerance.

I also expected more in terms of parodying the shallowness and unpractical nature of the fashion industry. There were plenty of opportunities to take stabs at fashion but this was only done in the beginning.

Without giving anything away there is a lot of shock and a great scene with Harrison Ford- but other than that it just seemed kind of under enthusiastic. I expected a lot more.

As a child of the age of Aquarius, I found myself liking this movie. I thought it was completely hilarious in an unusual way. When Brüno puts himself in various situations (and some dangerous situations), and finds himself speechless; it almost makes you think that Sascha Baron Cohen couldn't possibly come up with any semblance of a clever retort. But exactly at those times is when he wows you with his virtuoso-like skill of improvisation. If I wasn't when I saw Borat, I am now completely convinced that Cohen is a genius. I highly recommend watching the DVD for its alternate, deleted, and extended scenes; and a highly pertinent interview with Brüno's unknowing agent after the fact. I highly recommend this movie, if for his skill at making a story into the various peoples he meets.

I just saw it and I was a bit let down. I am gay, I love Cohen, and was ready to laugh. But the problem was he didn't expose any under-the-surface bigotry like he did in Borat. He overdid his "gayness" to such a violent extreme that he forced reactions out of people, some of whom are probably plenty openminded. You ended feeling sorry for these people.

Especially Ron Paul, who out of all the politicians Cohen could have chosen, deserved it the least. He's no champion of gay rights, but he is certainly not an enemy either and he reacted like any normal person would in that nightmarish situation. There were also some genuine bigots in the film, but Cohen goes to such an extreme to provoke them, by the time it gets to that point, who cares?

There were funny moments, of course, Cohen is a funny man, but this movie lacks the bite Borat had. This was just an exercise in bad taste (which is fine, if that's what you're looking for).

How does Borat have a 7.3 and this only a 5.8? Both movies follow basically the same formula: A crazy, super exaggerated walking stereotype played by Sacha Baron Cohen goes to America, getting involved in wacky antics and meeting some celebrities along the way, often in front of real unsuspecting crowds. Do people hate this movie because its the same formula again? I guess you could argue Borat is a little funnier than Bruno, but even still, its hard to get a laugh out of me and I involuntarily burst out laughing at least 15 or 20 times. Is it because of offensive, overly exaggerated gay stereotypes? I know this movie goes a bit far at points, but come on people, have a sense of humor! Pointing out Americans' ignorance of foreigners with funny accents is OK but doing the same thing with gays is too much? Sure. I often find myself rating movies lower than the average score, but this is a great movie, and I'd easily give it a 7 or 8. I honestly have no idea where the hate for this movie is coming from. Granted, its a HARD R and some of its more extreme content might be a little off putting to some, but come on people, this movie is hilarious!

In some ways, this movie is Sacha Baron Cohen's best work. His ability to completely and utterly humiliate some of society's worst people is absolutely on point at times, not least with the abhorrent talent show parents. On the other hand, it also contains some of his weakest and most off-putting material and many scenes are tedious and ridiculous. Overall, I think there is enough genius in here to consider it a success, but it certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea.