Screenhead

After the low-rent cinematic flop that was Bruno, you’d think that Sacha Baron Cohen would go away and lick his wounds for a while, because even he’d have to be thinking there’s just no way to get that whole Borat thing back up and running.  Everyone sees it coming now; how can he pull off a joke without stacking the deck like he did in Bruno?

The current rumor is, however, that he’s already planning another try by bringing us a “Eurovision-style pop star”.  For those of you not currently living in Europe, Eurovision is similar to American Idol, except across more countries where entire countries submit a song which is then voted on by the populace of Europe.  It can, naturally, get bizarre–for instance, Lordi opened the 2007 installment.  Lordi is essentially the live-action equivalent of Dethklok,  except Lordi’s from Finland and came first.

So for Cohen to be portraying one of these acts could, admittedly, get interesting.  And for Cohen to pass himself off as a third-tier D-list pop star from Europe may not be quite as hard as a pathologically homosexual fashionista from Germany.  But will this be just more of the same?  We’ll keep an eye on it and let you know.

I was really looking forward to this one, I’ll tell you that much going in.  I saw Borat back in 2006, and I really liked it.  I loved the way Sacha Baron Cohen playfully jabbed at our weaknesses and failings, as a way for us to maybe take a little better look at how we treat other people.  Was it frequently wrong, how we treated others?  Yes, of course it was.  Look at those poor dumb fratboys who got in the trailer with him.  They’ll NEVER live that down.  See?  We’re even still talking about it three years later!  Right here!

But Bruno…this is somewhat different.

Bruno, opening today,  is the story of Bruno, a nineteen year old fashionista played ably by Sacha Baron Cohen and the former host of Funky Tag, a show dedicated to fashion and similarly pointless topics such as a “What’s in / what’s out” segment. One such segment declared chlamydia out and autism in because “autism is funnier”.

That is a QUOTE, please save your flames.

Indeed, Bruno was on top of the world, with Germany-wide fame, at least minor celebrity and power, and even a flight attendant boyfriend, plus several bicycle-powered sex toys.  No, seriously.  But following a disaster of epic proportions involving a suit made entirely of velcro at the Prada show, Bruno was out.  And thus, taking with him only his assistant’s assistant Lutz, Bruno went to Los Angeles in search of global celebrity.  But what he would find would be much more and much different than he would ever expect.

Like I said above, Bruno was a much different animal from Borat.  Sure, both started out about the same, making me laugh with the power of sheer over-the-top antics.  Borat had The Running Of The Jews, Bruno had a three minute sequence involving things he did with his flight attendant boyfriend.  Sheer ludicrousity fuels the comedy in both Borat AND Bruno.

But Bruno…Bruno overdid the ludicrousity.  I know, how can it be possible?  The very definition of ludicrous requires it to be laughably unrealistic!  How can you overdo the unrealistic when it’s REQUIRED for ludicrous!  Oh, they did.  Believe me, they did.

Most of the movie is, as I’ve mentioned, that gentle poking of fun with the standard overblown Sacha Baron Cohen style,  with one-note jokes over and over again:  gay guy learns self-defense, gay guy baits ministers, gay guy tries to join the Army, gay guy baits more ministers, gay guy goes down South and tries to bait EVERYBODY and so on and so forth.  But not a whole lot of people are rising to that bait.

Until the night of the cage match, and this is where it really gets low.

See, Cohen, in a new persona as “Straight Dave”, sets up a cage match.  Lots of people there, plenty of them clearly crocked, several actually holding beers.  And “Straight Dave” ramps up the rhetoric, describing how great it is to be around straight people, how he’s glad no “fags” are around (again, QUOTE, no flames, thank you) and it goes on like this until Lutz shows up.

You can probably figure out what happened from there, but I’ll say this much, the phrase “descent into barbarism” is at least somewhat appropriate.  Bruno stacks the deck by trying literally everything it can think of to bait a response.  Sometimes it works, more often it doesn’t.  Thus, we’re left with a series of gay jokes that fall terribly flat and a skewed reflection of the very worst of America.  It’s the Borat that didn’t work.

I had wondered how Cohen could ever manage to pull off another Borat–wouldn’t everyone see him coming?  And the answer, for the most part, is yes.  No matter what outlandishness he tries–and man, does he ever try–he just can’t replicate what he did the first time.

Bruno is a profound waste of time and money.

Ah, Bruno, one of the many awesome characters created by none other than Sacha Baron Cohen, the man behind Borat. Seeing as how everyone knows him now, and that the film stars a flamboyantly homosexual character, the Bruno project has been getting a lot of fire, and this time it comes from none other than the homosexuals themselves.

“Some people in our community may like this movie, but many are not going to be OK with it. Sacha Baron Cohen’s well-meaning attempt at satire is problematic in many places and outright offensive in others,” says Rashad Robinson, senior director for the GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).

This comes from The Drudge Report which also notes that Sir Elton John, who makes a cameo, apparently blushed and balked when Cohen requested him to play “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” for the already infamous cage fighting scene where Bruno and his opponent make out in front of a drunken redneck mob.

The film is due out later this summer.

The Bruno madness starts! The first trailer for Sacha Baron Cohen’s upcoming mockumentary has surfaced, offering us a glimpse of the madness that is to come.

A recent edit of the film was slapped with a NC-17 rating by the MPAA, but they are trying to edit it down to a R-rating. Judging by the trailer, they have quite a way to go.

Bruno will unleash his gayness on the world starting July 10.

Surprising no one, MPAA slapped the first submitted cut of Sacha Baron Cohen’s upcoming gay comedy Bruno with a NC-17 rating that effectively bars it from getting a wide audience.

Some of the sequences in the cut show Bruno appearing to have anal sex and another where he sneaks naked into the tent of an unsuspecting hunter on a hunting trip.

Universal Pictures requires an R-rated cut to be released, so Cohen is expected to make several cuts to the film. Apparently, Cohen has shot so much material that substitutions are said to be no problem.

It is not known if these sequences will be saved for the DVD release. The film is due out in theaters nationwide on July 10.

Hollywood Elsewhere reports that Paul Giamatti, Meryl Streep, Sacha Baron Cohen and Reese Witherspoon are apparently circling a project called Downsizing that will be directed by Alexander Payne.

"Nothing is locked down at this juncture, not even script, certainly not cast,” a source told blogger Jeff Wells. “[Payne is] still working on screenplay, although he’s close."

Payne is currently working on HBO series Hung that stars Anne Heche and Thomas Jane as a high-school basketball coach who capitalizes on his large penis.

In a move that puts the film in a rather favorable position at the box office, Sacha Baron Cohens controversial comedy Brunohas been pushed back two months from May 15 to July 10. Sad, but true.

This move comes after disaster epic 2012 was moved to November from its original July date. It also takes Bruno out of the big-budget onslaught that will be May this year, with Wolverine, Star Trek, Angels & Demons, Terminator Salvation and the Night at the Museum sequel all fighting it out in a four-week span.

Brunos only competitor now is the Hayden Panettiere romantic comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper. Annoying high-school girl who cant act, or annoying homosexual fashion reporter? Well find out this July.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s Bruno film is shaping up to be one hell of a ride, what with making headlines last year all over the world with high-profile appearances at airports, fashion runways and more.

The comedian’s gay fashion reporter character’s next target is Madonna it seems, as the film will see Bruno and his boyfriend adopt an African baby called David, who they parade around fashion capitals of the world.

For those who don’t get it: Madonna adopted a Malawian baby called David Banda a while ago.

Bruno is set for release on May 15.

In today’s bit of Bruno news, AP News reports that an unruly extra was ejected from the set of NBC drama series Medium during the filming of a scene earlier this month.

As it turns out, the extra was Sacha Baron Cohen in his Austrian fashion reporter Bruno persona. He was shooting scenes for the Bruno film opening in May 2009.

The scene being filmed in question was with Patricia Arquette, who stars as psychic Allison DuBois in the drama series. No one is sure how Cohen gained entry to the set.

Cohen’s upcoming Bruno film may turn out to be more outrageous than Borat, as the actor has cast two professional homosexual porn stars to act in the coming film.

Casting agent David Forest was contacted by the production and he, Cohen and director Dan Mazer auditioned ten actors for the roles, ultimately settling on Paul Barba and John Martel.

Martel has a two dozen-film resume which include Grabby and GayVN award-nominated works. Meanwhile, Barba’s work can be found mostly on on-demand sites.

The two will be found in one scene where Cohen’s gay Austrian journalist enters Burbank’s Armano Hotel with some other men who try to get Bruno to join them in a five-man orgy. While Bruno refuses, he still watches them from the window.