Minute44 - Dan Schonhaar

Directed by: Larry Charles
Starring: Sascha Baron Cohen

It’s been 3 years since Borat hit our screens and had the nation shouting “Is nice!” in a dodgy accent and now Sascha baron Cohen is back at it again with his latest character, Austrian fashion journalist, Bruno. The “story” follows Bruno travelling to America on a voyage of self discovery with his assistant where he appears on talk shows, conducts interviews and generally meets with people who will be most annoyed by him. Gee, where have we heard that scenario before?

That’s right, folks. If you’ve seen Borat then you’ve seen 90% of Bruno. The plot is as near as makes any difference identical. The way the film is shot: identical. The humour: identical. I can’t stress this enough, this movie hasn’t a single scrap of originality and that is it’s biggest single problem. Pretty much every scene has a direct counterpart in Borat and this is something that you are continually very aware of.

But let’s talk about what the movie does well. Well, despite it’s unoriginality I did find myself laughing a fair amount but that was mainly because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Bruno takes repulso-shock humour to new heights and some scenes will have you squirming with discomfort. Don’t go and see this with your mum. Ever. If you like to see Americans at their stupidest this is a definite must see. I won’t go into specifics but when Bruno is looking for babies to appear in photos with his adopted baby, OJ, your jaw will be on the floor.

As well as this, there are some pretty funny celebrity appearances from the likes of Paula Abdul and Harrison Ford. Of course the title character’s sexuality is played off against the people who will be most offended by it (see redneck hunters, religious fundamentalists and army drill sergeants) and this, again, will have you half laughing and half looking away in discomfort.

But is the movie actually any good? Well yes and no. The first time you see it, chances are you’ll laugh and probably leave happy. Any subsequent viewings, however, will be inevitably devoid of any enjoyment and you’ll probably just turn it off half way through. Before seeing Bruno I thought that the same thing that happened with Borat would happen again. I thought we’d spend the next 12 months hearing people shouting catchphrases in a crappy German accent but, honestly, I don’t think people will remember them for long enough. Shortest comedic shelf life ever.

Verdict: