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I'm from the South, from one of the most conservative states in the U.S. Yes, there is some of what you mentioned here (someone from my state's university was proudly wearing his shirt in the cage fight scene), but this gross over-generalization is rather offensive. There are some wonderfully kind people in the south, just as there are some wonderfully ignorant people in the south.
And before you go toting the North as a Mecca for tolerance, read up about MLK's marches in Chicago. He found racism there when he too thought it was isolated in the South. How about the swimming pool in the north east that, a few days ago, kicked out all the black kids because they were changing the 'complexion' of the pool?
Fuck that, man. How dare you stereotype an entire region, while exposing some of the most intense hypocrisy I've seen since, well, since I saw Bruno.
I'm not saying they don't exist, and I won't claim there aren't more of them here than elsewhere. But they aren't a majority, we aren't all "moronic, bigoted assholes."
I've talked to a lot of people who have that perception of Oklahoma. They're always surprised at how "normal" i am. Then they come here and realize it's full of genuinely nice people.
I think we have to point out a major problem here: not that they were mad that they weren't seeing a cage fight and rather seeing two dudes grope each other, but why were they at a cage fight to begin with? Who the fuck goes to those things?
Just kidding cage fight lovers...
I'm never going to say this movie doesn't show some bigotry, but I get angry (as i did after Borat) when I knew people would assume everybody who lives in the South demonstrates the exact same views as those on screen.
I thought it was funny. I enjoyed watching it. I found this second Docu-Comedy of Choen's to be more story driven than faux-documentary driven like he presented with Borat. It felt like we were just watching Bruno being Bruno and not Bruno acknowledging he is Bruno in front of the cameras. I found it interesting how the interviews with real/probably staged individuals weren't always introduced. The movie just dove into those situations with the aid of Bruno's V.O. The material got bawdy to the nth degree. I just want to know if that bike contraption scene at the beginning was real... Actually, you know what, I'm better off not knowing.
What I mean is, there are plenty of people who think Jesus Christ can cure homosexuality. These people are idiots. But I wanted Bruno to take one of these idiots and show themselves just how dumb they are. Instead he left it so everybody who KNOWS they're idiots laughs, and everybody who believes them stays the same. I don't know, I guess I was just expecting more.
The peace in the middle east thing was hysterical. Truly hysterical. Mistaking Hamas for hummus... Genius.
The Swingers party was funny to, but again there isn't much to be shown here. Yeah it shows some insane people, but I was looking for something sharper.
I think Borat is a better character. It's brilliant, using someone completely ignorant of western social norms and who is bigoted to expose the same bigotry in said western cultures. He also struck gold with some of those people in that movie (namely: frat guys in the RV).
But I still don't think these values (in either movie) should be taken as social norms. It's important we are aware such people exist, but extrapolating is a dangerous game.
Main point: See Bruno, you'll laugh a lot, but it's not as great as I'd hoped. Full review theboxofficejunkie.com
There were definitely some funny moments. It wasn't offensive enough for me. But I was impressed by how often Cohen put himself into serious danger.
And how the hell can the MPAA allow an ERECT/SEMI-ERECT PENIS to be shown in Bruno and NOT give it an NC-17 rating, but then automatically give a woman's vagina an NC-17 rating on the few occasions filmakers tried to show it???!! Why can we see penises but not women's vaginas? Now they can even show erect penises, but still no vagina? That is completely sexist, unfair, and illegal. Maybe its because a WOMAN is now head of the MPAA's ratings dept?
If they will allow any kind of graphic male nudity to be shown, then they must also allow any kind of graphic female nudity to be shown! That means if a film decides to show a woman's vagina, anus, or spread-vagina (all of which are graphic nudity and no more explicit than showing an erect penis) then the MPAA MUST also rate that "R".
The only thing I can think of is that the MPAA has changed its standards on nudity and will, in the future, also allow any type of female nudity to be shown in an R-rated film. Otherwise, its time for a CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT AND SUE THE MPAA for having a sexually discriminatory ratings policy! There is no justification to allow unlimited genital nudity of one gender to be shown with an R-rating, while giving the genital nudity of the other gender an NC-17 rating!
A director needs to put a close-up of female genitalia in a movie (not just pubic hair, but the labia and clitoris). If the MPAA tries to rate it NC-17 because of the nudity, then he needs to SUE THE MPAA for having a gender-biased, sexually discriminatory policy in the way that they rate genital nudity. He could show a judge that HUNDREDS of movies over the years showed full male genitalia and only received an "R" rating, and yet not a single vagina has ever been clearly shown in an R-rated film. It's time to FILE A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST THE MPAA and take those fuckers out!!!
You can't compare this to Borat for this very reason. Borat was about being a macho man, which Americans are all into.
Bruno, on the other hand, makes many Americans uncomfortable because it makes fun of their illogical, homophobic nature.
People who don't like this film are clearly homophobic - and you can tell by the critics who have panned it before it even opened, so what do you expect. I mean, just read the leader into this post to see the homophobia in action.
I mean, contrast all the fawning over the completely talentless Megan Fox, who appears in Transformers as nothing more than the obligatory "make males feel macho" role, while Cohen, who's clearly head and shoulders above her talent wise, get's panned by all the homophobes, even though he's quite straight in real life.
He's a brilliant comic talent, and that's all that needs to be said.
Americans, who feel that they constantly have to prove to everyone around them that they are, ironically, so macho, clearly aren't mature enough to appreciate the comic artistry of this very straight comedian.
Still, this film is doing very well, which gives us hope for the American people after all.
Editors of sites like this notwithstanding.
We could delve deeper into why the film is or isn't funny, or as funny as you would have liked or funnier than - but I think the default setting of like it or be called a homophobe is a bit strong. Or, you know, just utterly baseless.
And by the way, "Megan Fox" is actually an actor named Dave Tennenbaum who wears a skanky hot girl suit 24 hours a day. He LIVES his craft. He's both the Andy Kaufman and Pamela Anderson of our time.
To the contrary, it was a logical explanation of why this character is unlikely to resonate with American audiences as well as Borat. And I even referenced the line used in the front page lead-in to this post (which, interestingly enough, has now been changed since my comment above). I rest my case.
You, on the other hand, challenged my assertion with nothing, but "self evident" and condescension. Kind of speaks for itself all right.
So here's my version of your argument:
Either you hate this movie, or you're a 30-foot tall Aardvark.
Furthermore, Bruno has a kind of 'Jackassvibe'. Idiotic man does idotic things and says idiotic stuff, so people react idiotic because they are freaked out. Hell, Sasha even puts himself in danger (is he? is he? isn't it fake?) so we can all laugh, and clap in our hands because of the possible pain-factor. Add pictures of a penis and a sex-party and you have, basically, a Jackass spin off.
I don't want Sasha Cohen to be a Jackass-dude. I want him to be razor-sharp social commentary and Bruno just isn't.