The format of having the audience be in on the joke while most of the people in front of the camera are not is a staple of television comedy.
Beginning with "Candid Camera" in the 1950s and 1960s, the formula stretches up to the present with Ashton Kutcher's celebrity-centric "Punk'd" and "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment." David Letterman had a "man on the street" segment where he would feed outrageous questions to the interviewer to ask the subjects. Andy Kaufman was a master of such comedy. From his "Foreign Man" to outré nightclub singer Tony Clifton to his long, never-breaking-character wrestling persona, Kaufman could make audiences squirm with his utterly unflappable comedic visions.
Picking up the mantle is the British/Jewish, Cambridge-educated comedian Sasha Baron Cohen. On his "Da Ali G Show," Cohen created a cast of characters (including the host) that were weird and totally in your face. The first of these masterworks was the "reporter" from Kazakhstan, Borat. The rambling (in more ways than one) reporter starred in the 2006 feature film "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." Borat was a fervent anti-Semite who traveled across America to get a feel for our culture, goad hapless victims into revealing their true natures, and to find and marry Pamela Anderson.
Audiences were extremely divided on "Borat." One either got it and loved or absolutely hated it. That fact was apparent when, upon seeing the first preview for "Brüno," many members of the audience I was part of moaned and groaned when the graphic on the screen read, "From the creators of 'Borat.'"
If you were offended, or made overly nervous and uncomfortable, by "Borat," it is a safe - make that a sure - bet that you will absolutely want to avoid Cohen's second film, "Brüno."
I am far from easily shocked (I actually have seen, and enjoyed, John Waters' pre "Hairspray" oeuvre, which strays fairly far from the mainstream of comedy). But I have to admit there are scenes in "Brüno" that shocked me. Not so much because of content, but the fact that the film grabbed less than an "NC-17" rating. My late mom saw "Animal House" on a flight to California. She thought it was the grossest thing she'd ever seen. She would have had a heart attack had she seen "Brüno."
There's a loose plot line: Our hero is the host of an Austrian TV program called "Funkzeit." He's fired after a disastrous trip down a fashion show runway wearing a suit made of Velcro. Disgraced and dejected - he's even been dumped by his elfish lover, Diesel - he heads to America with his assistant's assistant, Lutz. Brüno is determined to be a star in America. He believes he's already a superstar in other parts of the world but wants to conquer the U.S. To this end, he develops a number of projects, and all of them turn up as vignettes in the film.
First there's "Bruno's A-List Celebrity Max Out." The focus group is shocked and horrified.
He decides he will try to bring peace to the Middle East (which he calls "middle earth") but fails when he confuses Hamas with hummus. He decides to go to Africa and adopt a child like Madonna and Brangelina have done. When he returns, he goes on Richard Bey's talk show airing from Dallas, where he tells the audience of African Americans that he traded an iPod for the child, which he has given the traditional African name, "O.J." He also decides O.J. needs a video and he interviews stage parents who seem willing to have their kids go to any lengths - working on a set lit with phosphorous, running antiquated heavy machinery, being tied to a cross, losing ten pounds, having liposuction - to become celebrities. He convinces Sen. Ron Paul - whom he confuses with cross-dressing singer/actress RuPaul - to come to his hotel room for an interview, which ends rather messily.
Finally he decides he needs to become straight. He visits a southern evangelist who specializes in "curing" gays. From here he goes to other counselors - during one session he pantomimes an act in such detail as to garner an NC-17 rating. He goes hunting/camping with a very red-necked quartet of good ol' boys and finally poses as a wrestler throwing a "gay bashing" wrestling match that goes dangerously awry.
The coda of the film is a music video with guest stars Elton John, Bono, Sting and a hilarious Snoop Dogg. "Brüno" strives to show our society's innate fear/hatred of gays as well as expose our love of celebrity culture.
As in "Borat," Cohen and guerrilla director Larry Charles claim that many of these scenes use people who are not in on the joke - people who think they are participating in a "documentary." It's a dangerous line to walk for the sake of a joke or social commentary, and no one is doing a better job of walking it than Cohen and Charles.
If you like this brand of edgy comedy and aren't easily offended by sexually oriented subject matter, you will no doubt laugh your (undisclosed part of anatomy) off. Otherwise you'll be shocked and disgusted. I'm sure Cohen will be delighted with either response.[[In-content Ad]]
Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield freelance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.
