'Brüno' a brutally blunt comedy only for the bold
Soon after I had seen Sacha Baron Cohen's new comedy "Brüno," a studio publicist asked me what I thought of it, and the only words that came to me were: "It's an eyeball-gouging, eardrum-splitting, conscience-searing, butt-busting, throat-grabbing, gaydar-exploding brain fry."
That pretty much sums up my shellshocked reaction to Cohen's anxiously awaited follow-up to his 2006 box office smash "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," an audacious mix of reality and fiction that paved brave new roads for comedy and catapulted the MPAA's R rating into uncharted, adults-only territory.
To be honest, there's no way I can possibly describe what really happens in "Brüno" without my editor being fired, me being fired and the Daily Herald building being burned to the ground by outraged members of the political action committee Citizens for Good Taste and Coherent Plots in Movies.
Once again, Cohen pushes the boundaries of the R rating into adults-only turf with unprecedented footage of dancing male members, explicit anal obsessions and bodaciously proportioned masochistic swingers.
"Brüno" should no doubt attract huge audiences willing to be shocked by the star's unquestionable, Andy Kaufman-esque ability to light the short fuses on ordinary people's political and racial tempers.
But "Brüno" is a different animal than "Borat."
The latter was a relative innocent who ran afoul of public mores and PC rules by accident. Brüno is an openly gay Euro-trashy aggressor who goes out into the world determined to find a way to become a huge, international star, "the biggest Austrian superstar since Hitler!"
With his bronzed hair and svelte build, Brüno the fashionista, accompanied by his right-hand man Lutz (Gustaf Hammarsten) -- please don't ask what the left hand does-- searches for the easiest path to stardom.
Brüno first tries to host a celebrity talk show, with an unsuspecting, outraged Paula Abdul taking a hike from the interview. (Cohen also interviewed La Toya Jackson and hit her up for Michael Jackson's phone number. The segment was deleted after Jackson's death last month.)
One-time presidential candidate Ron Paul falls victim to Brüno in a hotel room where the actor takes his clothes off and sends the angry politician scurrying into the hall in a mortified huff.
Next, Brüno attempts to become a superstar by bringing peace to Israelis and Palestinians during a taped talk where the host keeps confusing "Hamas" with "hummus" to moderately comical effect.
Brüno later joins a swingers' party with some eye-popping physiques on display ("You must give a lot of milk!" Bruno says), gets chased by irate Hasidic Jews for being semi-naked in public, puts the moves on a Christian man attempting to cure his gayness and infuriates a black audience on a TV talk show after swapping his iPod for an African baby and naming him "O.J."
Although Cohen raises the bar on fearless exploration into the unacceptable, the "is it real or it is fabricated?" factor loses some of its allure this time around. We never know exactly if we're watching real people react to Brüno's antics as in "Borat," or if it's one giant setup to lure us into Cohen's shaped reality.
The movie's most dangerous segment takes place at an Arkansas pro wrestling match, where "Straight Dave" (Cohen as Bruno as Dave) denounces homosexuals, then challenges a man from the audience to fight. He turns out to be Lutz, who climbs into the cage with Straight Dave and instantly wins him over to the dark side, transforming the once-cheering rednecks into a mob of homophobic rage.
"Borat" was masterful at using Cohen's setups to flush out intolerance, social phobias and political incorrectness of ordinary people.
"Brüno" does it, too, but this time around, our main character isn't as empathetic, the setups seem less authentic, and we feel just a little bad about Paula and Paul being duped.
That never happened in "Borat."
Rating: 2½ stars
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten, with Paula Abdul, Ron Paul
Directed by: Larry Charles
Other: A Universal Pictures release. Rated R (graphic nudity, language, sexual situations). 83 minutes.