Brüno is thrillingly funny, establishing Sacha Baron Cohen as a comedian willing to go further than any other to show us what needs to be shown.
Bruno (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:208
Fresh:140
Rotten:68
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: Crude and offensive, but with ample cultural insights and gut-busting laughs, Bruno is another outlandish and entertaining mockumentary from Sacha Baron Cohen.
Theatrical Release:10-07-2009
Synopsis: After BORAT took over America in 2006, another Sacha Baron Cohen creation arrives on the big screen. In BRUNO, the gay Austrian model of the title brings his antics to the States.
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen
Director: Larry Charles
Director: Larry Charles
Screenwriter: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Mazer, Jeff Schaffer
Story: Sacha Baron Cohen, Peter Baynham, Anthony Hines, Dan Mazer
Producer: Sacha Baron Cohen, Jay Roach, Dan Mazer, Monica Levinson
Composer: Erran Baron Cohen
Studio: Universal Pictures
Reviews for Bruno
There are a lot of big, cruel laughs in this but it was a lot easier to warm to the innocent Borat than the self-absorbed Brüno and the film begins to overstay its welcome even at a trim 80-odd minutes.
There is no braver satirist than Sacha Baron Cohen today, working in any medium, and I salute him. This movie is going to be as big as Borat, and deservedly so.
But oh my, puerile and ragged as it is, and to some extent because it’s so ragged and puerile, I doubt if a more screamadelically hilarious film will be released in 2009.
Brüno is guilty of being both unbelievably crude and side-splittingly funny. While it's certainly very close to Borat at times, as well as the proverbial bone, with Sacha Baron Cohen in such fine form almost anything is forgivable.
A patchy, hit-and-miss comedy with a few outrageous highs and a lot of just-okay padding, Brüno suggests that Sacha Baron Cohen's in-your-face fool routine sadly isn't working any more.
Better than Borat? No. But easily just as good, and twice as outrageous.
Cohen’s new one-star show is appalling and funny and sometimes both simultaneously.
Howlingly funny, staggeringly rude, brutally incorrect and very often just brilliant.
That’s not to say that there aren’t funny moments here because there are some really choice moments but they are lost in the mix of purile and often uncomfortable moments that really are below what you’d expect from the team behind this.
With as many gasps as laughs, and arguably less pleasurable than Borat, Brüno succeeds by sheer dint of Cohen’s unrivalled ability to conceive, and then bravely enact, the most jawdropping stunts imaginable.
May be the funniest film of the year thus far, but it doesn't come close to reaching the comedic heights of his previous effort, Borat.
Of course, there are laughs, and if audacity were the only principle by which film-making achievement were judged the movie would be a knockout. But having groaned and winced through most of its 83 minutes I couldn't wait to get out of there.
He’s fearless, dedicated to his art and there really isn’t anyone else out there who does this schtick half as well. A third helping of fake interviews might be pushing the gimmick too far, but Brüno is as hilarious as it is terrifying.
It's properly ridiculous, mad entertaining and, dare we say it, laugh-out-loud silly.
Borat remains Sacha Baron Cohen's masterpiece. But gag for gag, Brüno is every bit its equal. So is it the best comedy of the year? Without a doubt.
As funny as some of this is, though, even with a running time just shy of 90 minutes, Brüno often feels as if it's straining for effect.
While the film isn’t as consistently funny as Borat, Bruno should still pull in a sizeable audience.
Baron Cohen is an astonishingly focussed performer; we have no idea how he doesn't crack a smile.
Latest News for Bruno
November 12, 2009:
RT on DVD: Wassup, Bruno
More...
July 13, 2009:
Bruno 'terrorist' threatens to sue Sacha Baron Cohen ![]()
Ayman Abu Aita, the so-called 'terroist leader' interviewed by Sacha Baron Cohen in Bruno, claims he was duped by the star -- and is now threatening to sue the filmmakers. More...
July 12, 2009:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Brüno Struts To The Top Spot
Sacha Baron Cohen scored another number one hit with his latest shockfest comedy Brüno which opened atop the North American box office bumping two-time champ Transformers:... More...
July 09, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Bruno is Certified Fresh
This week at the movies, we've got Austrian audacity (Bruno, starring Sacha Baron Cohen) and graduation gratification (I Love You, Beth Cooper, starring Hayden Panettiere and... More...
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