Brüno is Sacha Baron Cohen’s third incarnation after the much-quoted Ali G and the controversial culture shock that is Borat Sagdiyev. From his days on The 11 O’Clock Show to hosting his own show… the man has sent shock waves of comedy: ranging from downright witty to upright horrific. Some have called him “a comic genius of many faces in the shadow of the great Peter Sellers” (or at least I just did), while others have wanted to castrate him for ridiculing their nationality.

Either way… he’s caught the imagination of young generations and left older audiences in a silly stupor, with some people caught in the cross-fire. Now after airing his dirty laundry on the restricted medium known as late night television, he has been able to take his characters to the next level on film.

Ali G made a relatively tame transition to film in Ali G Indahouse, and it would be an understatement to say that it contrasted sharply with Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazahkstan, in which he ripped a pant hole in the jean fabric of American culture. Now Brüno, Cohen’s flamboyant fashionista from Austria takes to the streets of the U.S. in Brüno: 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.

Okay, so that was the film’s fake working title as incorrectly publicised in 2006 – but it certainly gives you an idea of where things are going… downhill at an alarming rate! Sacha Baron Cohen triumphed in Britain with his no holds barred comedian presenter known as Ali G. However, it would take more than a Madonna music video, feature film and “American Edition” Ali G Show to crack Hollywood. Borat took the world by storm with Larry Charles in the director’s chair, inflating the character’s risque British comedy into something even more profane, sacrilegious and culturally unbearable. The cringe factor shot Sacha Baron Cohen up the food chain in Hollywood and set expectations on high for his next project, Brüno.

Now that his film has crash landed, after severing some La Toya Jackson footage in respect of Michael Jackson’s recent and untimely passing, the film has received mixed reviews from both press and public. The general consensus is that it’s a shorter, more “palatable” version of Borat, with an overtly sexual slant as opposed to cultural etiquette. Some liken the experience to Borat in terms of shock value and others have suggested that Brüno is easier to sit through in terms of time and content at an inflammatory, yet breezy 83 minutes. The jokes are still in-your-face and Sacha Baron Cohen’s bravery is even more commendable: interviewing a terrorist, parading a talking appendage, adopting an African baby (as a fashion accessory “The baby is a man magnet.”) and rubbing it (not the baby) in the faces of rednecks, US fashionistas and F-list celebrities.

The bottom line is that you’re still going to sit awkwardly in your seat and cover your eyes every now and then. It’s this coarsely tuned mix of embarrassment and comedy that will summon up a sense of awkward euphoria in audiences. It’s the kind of movie that you would not take your mother to and think twice about making your choice for date night. Sacha Baron Cohen is obviously still on a high after his inglorious days as Borat and this shines through with his bravado, spontaneity and punchy irreverence as the indomitable Brüno. The man has lost weight, shaved off all his body hair and had his head hair “manicured” to fit the part. It’s difficult to recall any other actors that have carried their on-screen persona as an off-screen split personality for so long as well as Sacha Baron Cohen has. Brüno pushes the boundaries of comedy as far as live-action would legally permit with his jumbled send up, which refuses to be labeled.

It’s difficult to rate Sacha Baron Cohen’s cinema, which is usually a good thing. The man’s vision, comic brilliance and performance are superb… so it really comes down to whether you loved or hated Borat. The Ali G Show will have given you a glimpse of what to expect, but trusting the show for a character reference would not be a good idea. Call it spoof, farce, trash… it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that Sacha Baron Cohen gets the laughs by forcing us to examine our global society in all its diversity and through its extremities (pun intended) we are able to sit back and laugh at the wonder and seriousness of it all.

The bottom line: Bristly.

Release date: 10 July, 2009

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