Bruno
by serena
I went to watch Sasha Baron Cohen in Bruno Friday night at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music).
I was skeptical before going. I did not enjoy Borat nearly as much as the rest of the world. There is a fine line that Cohen toes between subversive comedy and negative attack, and for someone who is more drawn to dramatic films and a more subtle sense of humor (the British would called it witty), I found Borat quick to bore, schticky with the same trick performed ad nauseam.
But I wanted to check out Bruno. I know that now he’s toeing against a very sensitive and personal line for me with the portrayal of a flamboyantly gay character. I wanted to see if he can pull it off.
It’s a little difficult to review this film, I have to confess – since the meat of it cannot be described by traditional cinematic tropes. In short, it’s a journey film. Bruno loses his popularity with his character flaw – his eccentric, illogical flair outcasts him from the fashion world in Europe. To reestablish his place in the world, he travels to America and fights for fame. The trials and tribulations that ensue push him down a spiral, until he is faced with the ultimate challenge, the changing of his gay identity. And of course, despite the temptation of fame and social acceptance, his identity triumphs in a farcical but glorious slow-mo sequence. The audience cheer.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Bruno’s character hyperbolizes gay stereotypes. Nor is it news that during his quest for fame, he manages to confront and offend Asians, African Americans, Africa, Terrorists (?!), Hillbillies, Army Men, Women, Hollywood Parents…some of these offenses are jabs at our cultural exotification of marginal groups, our fears of outsiders, and our adherence to institutions, some makes us question how the character made it out of these meetings alive during filming. We all knew what we were in for before we stepped into the theatre, those were the promised laughs for which we paid 10+ dollars. So let’s go back to the gay issue.
It would’ve been difference had Bruno been straight. It would’ve been different he had ever caused harm to anyone by being gay. It would’ve been different if there existed any gay character in the film that was an antagonistic force against our hero’s quest. But no. Bruno is unapologetically himself. With the many ill judgments he makes throughout the film, may it be the velcro jumpsuit that destroys his career in Austria or the shipping of a swapped African baby via airplane check-in luggage, he never used uses his homosexuality as a point of exotification, nor can he abandon it to get to that final goal of fame and success. It is the one thing that he holds as the core of his identity. With the ending, it is easy to see the film’s point of view on what is the most pivotal topic surrounding gay politics – that it is not a choice. I enjoyed this film tremendously.
So, lighten up, GLAAD.