Harry laughed pretty much throughout BRUNO at a near hyperventilating pace...
BRUNO isn't an easy film to review. There really isn't a plot. I mean, there is, but its essentially about BRUNO wanting to become a celebrity and the various harebrained notions that he embarks upon to become an internationally renowned celebrity. He then goes off to unleash this menace upon the unawares of the world.
That I couldn't stop laughing throughout - pretty much labels me as a sucker for this sort of comedy, but as film. I kinda hate it. The notion of pseudo-reality filmmaking satires is kind of the death knell to the cinema I love... but it works, so I can't actively hate on it. I enjoyed it too much for that.
In the original years of the Alamo Drafthouse, before Tim League really had minions to prep-pre-shows, it was essentially a moving Rorschach of Tim League's mind - and the things that make Tim League laugh are pretty much the same things you'll find in this film. I'll never forget spending a half hour before enumerable movies watching Uncle Fucker - intoxicated to a point of sub-catatonia having his leg repeatedly set on fire as he cussed, slapped at it and then repeated. It never ever got old.
Now, BRUNO is slightly more sophisticated than that. I mean, the level of tension that arises when BRUNO decides he will become famous with a celebrity sex video - and schedules an interview at a hotel with Ron Paul. And when the lights go out, they go into the "green room" which is a bed room. The tension was extreme. Because BRUNO was in a bedroom with Ron Paul. That was real. Somehow. Doctor Ron Paul was in a camera laden bedroom with BRUNO. Everyone in the theater was in nervous giggle hysterics. It was hysterical. The knowledge of what was going to happen was so extremely delicious... literally, that is the sort of humor that Cohen is a genius at. Like Paula Abdul sitting upon a Mexican and getting water from the back of another Mexican. These are things that we must all witness. Because Paula Abdul did it. And she wasn't in on the joke. She showed up for an interview with no furniture - and when presented with Mexicans to sit upon and sit drinks upon... she went with it. She used Mexican Human Beings as furniture and was completely ok with it. And that was amazing.
Just amazing.
Paula. What were you thinking? Did you ever think... "This isn't right, I'll stand"? I mean. Was this not the first time this scenario was presented to you? Are you accustomed to using human beings as furniture? Really?
The rampant homophobia in the film exhibited by just about everyone is something that I went in expecting. And I just was sadly amused by. It is funny because the fucking idiot redneck dumbfucks in the film are to be laughed at. But on the same hand, it is a shame that such backwards intolerant folks exist. Of course, they came expecting violent cage fighting, not cage loving. And their brains melt - and the film shows their brains melt - and you wonder what happened when their brains re-gelled. I'm thinking they went home and put on THE BIRDCAGE or CHICAGO.
BRUNO is hilarious. It is paralytically funny - and I know I easily missed about 15-20 minutes due to uncontrolled laughter on my part. So you'll probably want to see this a few times. It is that funny.
