Brüno (2009)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Larry Charles

Writers (WGA):

Sacha Baron Cohen (screenplay) &
Anthony Hines (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 July 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Borat was so 2006

Plot:

Flamboyant Austrian fashionista Brüno takes his show to America.

Plot Keywords:

Fashion | Austrian | Gay | Fame | Los Angeles

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Sacha Baron Cohen	...	Brüno
Gustaf Hammarsten	...	Lutz
Clifford Bañagale	...	Diesel
Chibundu Orukwowu	...	O.J.
Chigozie Orukwowu	...	O.J.
Josh Meyers	...	Kookus
Toby Hoguin	...	Mexican Gardener #1
Robert Huerta	...	Mexican Gardener #2
Gilbert Rosales	...	Mexican Gardener #3
Thomas Rosales Jr.	...	Mexican Gardener #4
Marco Xavier	...	Mexican Gardener #5
Bono	...	Himself - 'Dove of Peace'
Chris Martin	...	Himself - 'Dove of Peace'
Elton John	...	Himself - 'Dove of Peace'
Slash	...	Himself - 'Dove of Peace'

Also Known As:

Brüno: Snipped (UK) (recut version)
Untitled Brüno Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity and language.

Runtime:

81 min | Philippines:75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45372) | Ireland:16 | Iceland:14 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | UK:18 | Portugal:M/16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-15 | Sweden:11 | Netherlands:12 | Germany:16 | UK:15 (cut) | Belgium:KT | Ukraine:(Banned) | Canada:18A (Nova Scotia) | France:-12 | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Brazil:18 (cut) | Mexico:B15 | Hong Kong:III | Philippines:R-18 (MTRCB) (heavily cut) | Australia:MA (re-rating) | Australia:R (DVD)

Filming Locations:

Anniston, Alabama, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

In October 2006, entertainment blog website Defamer.com jokingly reported the title would be "Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt". Numerous websites around the world - including IMDb - reported this to be the actual working title.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Brüno takes OJ out of the box at the airport, the subtitles says "That is 13 pounds of black gold." He says "Das ist vierzehn Pfund schwarzes Gold." "Vierzehn" means 14, not 13 ("dreizehn").

Quotes:

Brüno: Look at the four of us; we are so like the Sex in the City girls!
Donny: Oh no, we aren't either!
Brüno: Which one are you, Donny?
Donny: I ain't any one of them, I'm Donny.
Brüno: That is such a Samantha thing to say!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Office: Niagara (#6.4)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Nessaja

I had prepared myself for this film...

I expected there to be a high level of gay and crude sexual jokes in this latest Sacha Baron Cohen adventure. Then the movie took it 2 steps further than anything I had prepared myself for.

The result; a lot of uneasy moments, a lot of uncontrollable laughing, and some putting my hands over my face in disbelief or disgust. The humour in the film is clearly that of in-your-face slapstick, however given the extremes the film goes to, it's all relatively entertaining. Like Borat, all of the genuine laughs are in everyday peoples reactions, rather than the poorly structured story or scripted scenes.

That said, it was a challenge of how much one could handle, and I wouldn't have minded if they had left out a particular full frontal shot of the male anatomy spinning around (an image that will stay with me for some time and probably haunt my dreams). It's not a movie I could really get 'comfortable' with watching, seeing all hell unravel in a variety of situations one after another with very little in the way of breaks, but time did go by relatively quickly, which helps given the intensity of the scenes.

It's not a film for the faint of heart, and definitely has more potential to offend than Borat ever did, though for the more open minded among us who aren't so easily offended, you may find some enjoyment in this film. Humanities finest moments certainly aren't on display here. Go see it with a few mates or drinking buddies and have fun, though you may exit the cinema a little more disturbed than when you went in.