Brüno

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the film. For the character, see Brüno Gehard. For other uses, see Bruno.

Brüno
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLarry Charles
Screenplay by
Story by
Produced by
StarringSacha Baron Cohen
Cinematography
  • Anthony Hardwick
  • Wolfgang Held
Edited by
Music byErran Baron Cohen
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • July 10, 2009 (2009-07-10)
Running time
82 minutes[1]
Countries
  • United States[2][3]
  • United Kingdom
Languages
  • English
  • German
Budget$42 million[4]
Box office$138.8 million[5]

Brüno is a 2009 mockumentary comedy film[2] directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who produced, co-wrote, and played the gay Austrian fashion journalist Brüno. It is the third film based on one of Cohen's characters from Da Ali G Show, following Ali G Indahouse and Borat. The film was released on July 10, 2009, to mostly positive reviews from critics and grossed $138 million worldwide.

Title

An alternative title for the film is 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. It was initially a mock title proposed by Hollywood news and gossip blog

Internet Movie Database
.

Plot

Gay

Hollywood
celebrity.

Brüno unsuccessfully attempts an acting career as an

sex tape by seducing politician Ron Paul, claiming to have mistaken him for drag queen RuPaul
. Paul angrily storms from the hotel room, muttering about Brüno’s homosexuality, after Brüno had dropped his pants and danced around the room.

Brüno consults a

Palestinian politician Ghassan Khatib and confuses hummus and Hamas. He sings his own "Dove of Peace" while cajoling the two to caress each other's hands. He also meets with Ayman Abu Aita, a militant group leader of al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, where he hopes to be kidnapped.[10][11]
Brüno insults him and he is ordered to leave.

Brüno interviews parents of

African American audience by describing his "difficulties" in raising a child as a single parent, but then disapproval when he reveals he's looking for "Mr. Right". Brüno shows off the baby he named O.J., whom he acquired in Africa by trading him for a U2 Product Red iPod. He shows photographs of the boy in dangerous and provocative situations and the audience is appalled. Social services take O.J. from Brüno, driving him to depression. He goes to a diner to gorge on high-carb junk food. Lutz carries him back to a hotel room. After a night of sex, they awake to find themselves trapped in a bondage mechanism, unable to find the key. They call a hotel engineer for help and are asked to leave. After accosting a group of anti-gay protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church while still in bondage gear and boarding a bus, Brüno and Lutz remove their equipment in Huntsville, Alabama.[12] After being arrested, Lutz says he loves Brüno, but Brüno does not reciprocate, stating he was influenced by "carb goggles
". Lutz leaves Brüno.

After realizing the biggest names in Hollywood are

National Guard, going hunting, and attending a swingers' party (during which he is whipped by a dominatrix
).

Eight months later, Brüno, under the

cage-fight match in Arkansas, "Straight Dave's Man Slammin' Maxout". Lutz appears at the event and insults Brüno, leading to them fighting in the cage. During the confrontation, they begin to kiss and strip in front of shocked spectators who throw objects into the cage. The moment gets international press, and the now-famous Brüno attempts to marry Lutz, getting O.J. back in exchange for a MacBook Pro. At Abbey Road Studios Brüno records a charity song, "Dove of Peace", featuring Bono, Elton John, Chris Martin, Snoop Dogg, Sting, and Slash
.

Cast

Cameos as themselves

Production

Baron Cohen was cognizant of his increased fame following the success of Borat, which led him to retire the character for a number of years, and realized it would be much harder to conduct his interviews as Brüno without being recognized. As a solution, Baron Cohen wore a wig that lowered the size of his forehead (easily recognizable on the Borat character), which to his amazement succeeded in hiding his identity for most of his interviews. Nevertheless, the flimsy nature of the disguise made Baron Cohen fearful that he would be recognized, to the point that he chose to live inside his trailer for almost the entirety of the six-month shoot.[13]

During Baron Cohen's Middle East interview of Alpher and Khatib, he repeatedly conflated

Jews and Hindus. The two interviewees (who had received a fee to appear on camera), convinced by the elaborate production, were confused by the questions but generally went along, even when asked by Baron Cohen to hold hands.[14]

On June 6, 2008, a riot ensued at a stunt orchestrated by Baron Cohen and the producers of the film as they staged a "Blue Collar Brawlin'" in

cage fighting, held at a convention center, by print and Craigslist advertisements, promoting "hot girls", $1 beer, and $5 admission. Approximately 1,500 people attended the event and were greeted by signs that informed them that they were being filmed. No mobile phones, video, or cameras were allowed inside. The acts taking place became homosexual in nature, with Brüno inviting a man up to fight him, who turned out to be Lutz. Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" started to play as both men began kissing and stripping. The audience reacted violently and threw chairs and beer at the performers. The performers were Brüno (Baron Cohen) under the ironic gimmick, "Straight Dave", and Gustaf Hammarsten portraying his opponent, Lutz.[15][16]

In July 2008, Tyler, Texas television station KETK-TV was approached by a "documentary filmmaker" who was allowed to bring a crew to interview a few members of the staff, including news director Neal Barton and sports director Danny Elzner. They signed releases and expected to be talking about small-town news in the United States. Instead, the interviews conducted by the flamboyant Brüno character drifted towards the topic of homosexuality.[17]

On November 2, 2008, Baron Cohen, dressed as Brüno, and his film crew were spotted at a

Proposition 8.[18]

On November 7, 2008, while appearing as an extra in a scene for the NBC TV series Medium, Baron Cohen interrupted a scene in character and was removed from the set. Production on the episode was shut down temporarily,[19] though actor Miguel Sandoval, who was told that a cousin of NBC executive Ben Silverman would appear as an extra in the jury, has stated that he recognized Baron Cohen and played along, commenting, "It's one thing for Borat to go into an antique store in Georgia or Alabama. For Brüno to go on a TV show, he's among insiders. Most people knew who he was."[20]

The production team also deceived presidential candidate Ron Paul into being interviewed by Brüno by posing as an Austrian television reporter looking to question the congressman about economic issues. As soon as Brüno drops his trousers, the congressman storms out of the room. A spokeswoman for Paul commented on the incident. She said Baron Cohen's people were very deceptive in their tactics. At the time, he thought they were "legitimate" but later confessed to some concern. "I'm familiar with his work, so you can imagine how I feel about it," he said. Jesse Benton, senior vice-president of Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty organization and former campaign spokesman for Paul, said Paul was not familiar with Baron Cohen's programme, Da Ali G Show. "If it's not on hard-core financial news, he doesn't follow it," Benton said. But, he added, "It sounds like it's going to be pretty funny."[21]

The scene filmed during a taping of The Richard Bey Show, however, was staged, and Bey was in on the joke, as his daytime show went off the air in 1996. The audience, however, was not made aware of the truth of the production. Similarly unaware of the true nature of the production was Paula Abdul, who, during her interview scene in the film, sat atop a Mexican landscaper and was presented with food adorned upon a man lying down on a cart wearing nothing but a "sock" over his penis. Abdul told a radio interviewer that she was "scarred" by the incident.[20]

Release

Brüno had its premiere at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre on June 25, 2009. The premiere is notable for taking place on the same day as the death of pop singer Michael Jackson, in which his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was covered by the red carpet, causing fans of the singer to access the star of another Michael Jackson (a radio host) for tributes.[22] It was later released on July 10, 2009, in the United States.[23] The film received an early release in Australia, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand,[24] and Iceland on July 8 and in Germany, Greece, Ireland, Serbia,[25] Slovenia,[26] Israel, and Bosnia and Herzegovina[27] on July 9, 2009.

Promotion

In a staged publicity stunt at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, Baron Cohen appeared as Brüno to present the award for Best Male Performer. Dressed as a winged angel wearing a jockstrap and white go-go boots, he was suspended on wires and flew over the audience towards the stage, but fell and landed on rapper Eminem, with his head in Eminem's lap and his buttocks in front of Eminem's face. Eminem shouted, "Are you fucking serious?" and, "Get this motherfucker off me!" Eminem and his entourage then walked out of the show and did not return. It was later revealed that Eminem and Baron Cohen had staged the incident, rehearsing it beforehand to make sure it went off without a hitch, leaving Eminem laughing to himself in his hotel room about how the crowd was easily fooled.[28]

Michael Jackson scene

Following the

Mexican workers substituting for chairs and invited her to eat sushi from the torso of an overweight and hairy naked man. In a ploy to get Michael's phone number, Brüno asked La Toya to let him look at her mobile phone, which she did.[29]

The latter part of this scene was later confirmed to be removed from the film permanently (about the phone number, but "the Mexicans as furniture scene" was included until the food is served on a naked man, at a SVT Swedish television broadcast of the film, February 2014), but is included in the DVD and Blu-ray release's special features.[30]

Home media

The film was released on

Blu-ray on November 17, 2009. Special features include deleted, alternative, and extended scenes and an audio commentary by Baron Cohen and Larry Charles.[31][failed verification
]

Reception

Box office

Brüno opened with $30,619,130, ranking number one in its first weekend. At the end of its run on August 20, it had grossed $60,054,530 in the United States and Canada and $78,751,301 overseas for a worldwide total of $138,805,831.[5] For its opening weekend, it narrowly beat Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (in its second week of release) for the highest gross, in the lowest attended second-weekend-in-July in 18 years.[32]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 67% based on 224 reviews, and an average rating of 6.18/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Crude and offensive, but with ample cultural insights and gut-busting laughs, Bruno is another outlandish and entertaining mockumentary from Sacha Baron Cohen."[33] Metacritic gives Brüno an average score of 54 out of 100 based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[34] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "C" on a scale of A+ to F.[35]

Nick Curtis of the Evening Standard wrote that Brüno is "funnier, more offensive, and more outrageous than Borat".[36] The Telegraph gave the film four stars out of four, saying "impossible not to laugh and also praising Brüno's controversial style of comedy."[37] The BBC also gave the film a positive review, saying "Brüno pushes the boundaries further than Borat ever did." However, they also said that "It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea" due to the offensive nature of the film.[38] Roger Ebert awarded the film three and a half out of four stars, and said "Here is a film that is 82 minutes long and doesn't contain 30 boring seconds", although he noted that the film's R rating was "very, very hard".[39]

Andy Lowe from Total Film gave it a lower review, giving it three stars out of five and calling it "as phony and frustrating as it is funny... The clothes may be new and more fabulous, but the emperor seriously needs to go shopping."[40] Others felt it was not as good, feeling it would insult and offend the gay community: A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote that the film shows "that lampooning homophobia has become an acceptable, almost unavoidable form of homophobic humor," and called the film "a lazy piece of work that panders more than it provokes."[41] At the Movies critic Ben Mankiewicz criticized the film for being too demeaning and playing on homosexual stereotypes. He later named Brüno the worst film at the halfway point of 2009.[42]

Motion Picture Association of America

On October 11, 2010, it was revealed that the

Motion Picture Association of America's Classification and Rating Administration would specifically note in the future which films contained "male nudity". A spokesman said this was in direct response to parental concerns about the content of Brüno.[43]

Reception in Austria

While Borat was

Josef Fritzl and Adolf Hitler,[45] even going as far as calling Mel Gibson "der Führer
" as he pointed at the actor/director's photo in the film.

Ban in Ukraine

In Ukraine, the film was scheduled to premiere on July 23, but on July 14, the Minister of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine decided to ban the distribution and demonstration of the film in the country.[46] The reason for the prohibition was that nine out of fourteen members of a commission of experts said the film contained "obscene language, homosexual scenes, and other scenes of offensive nature never shown in Ukraine."[46][failed verification] The "Vinnytsia Human Rights Group" immediately expressed its anger with the ban.[47] Journalist Yevhen Minko accused the Ministry of moral censorship that missed the point of the film.[48] An unofficial premiere of the film in Kyiv on July 22, 2009, was disrupted by a smoke bomb.[49][50]

Lawsuit and death threats

On 2 December 2009, it was reported that Ayman Abu Aita, who stated he was falsely portrayed as a terrorist in the film,[51] was filing a lawsuit of $110 million in libel damages for defamation.[52] Ayman Abu Aita was identified in the film as a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.[53] Abu Aita says that he was never a member of al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and was tricked into appearing in the film. In an interview with Time, Abu Aita stated, "It is true that I was jailed in 2003...I was active in resisting the occupation, in non-violent ways."[54]

Baron Cohen claims he set up a meeting with Aita in the West Bank with the help of a CIA agent. According to the lawsuit, however, the interview with Abu Aita took place at a hotel chosen by Baron Cohen and located in a part of the West Bank that was under Israeli military control.

Gannett Company, and Larry Charles.[57]
In November 2010, the lawsuit was dismissed in Washington D.C. Court so as to be refiled in the Supreme Court of New York.[58] In July 2012, the lawsuit was reported to have been settled under undisclosed terms.[59]

Baron Cohen has said he had to increase his security detail following death threats from the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades after the release of the film.[60] The group was angered by the interview with Abu Aita in which he was linked with the group, an armed wing of the Fatah movement. In a statement to the media, al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades denied that Abu Aita was a member and threatened that they "reserve the right to respond in the way we find suitable against this man (Baron Cohen)" and that they feel the segment was "a dirty use of our brother Ayman".[61]

References

  1. ^ "Brüno (18)". British Board of Film Classification. June 17, 2009. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Brüno film overview". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016.
  3. ^ "Brüno". The Guardian. July 10, 2009. Archived from the original on March 13, 2014.
  4. ^ "Brüno (2009) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
  5. ^ a b "Brüno (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on May 10, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  6. ^ Abramovitch, Seth (June 18, 2008). "The Curious Case Of The Fake Defamer 'Bruno' Title That Ate The Internets". Defamer. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2008.
  7. ^ Graham, Mark (October 30, 2006). "Universal Bets $42 Million That Sacha Baron Cohen Can Continue To Taunt Middle America With Naive-Foreigner Characters". Defamer. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2008.
  8. ^ "Movie Reviews, Articles, Trailers, and more at Metacritic". Movietome.com. Retrieved February 9, 2011.[permanent dead link‍]
  9. ^ Morris, Wesley (July 10, 2009). "Brüno". Boston.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2018 – via The Boston Globe.
  10. ^ The actual location, according to Abu Aita, was a private section of a popular restaurant at the Everest Hotel Archived June 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine in the town of Beit Jala, in a section of the West Bank opposite Bethlehem under Israeli control. al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades is a coalition of Palestinian militias in the West Bank. Abu Aita claims to be a grocery store owner unaffiliated with al-Aqsa and pursued legal action against Cohen.
  11. ^ Thomson, Katherine (August 13, 2009). "Ayman Abu Aita, Brüno's "Terrorist," Threatens Legal Action". Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2018 – via Huff Post.
  12. ^ "Office of Alternative Sentencing". Co.madison.al.us. Archived from the original on January 5, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
  13. ^ "Sacha Baron Cohen & Don Cheadle - Actors on Actors - Full Conversation". YouTube. June 6, 2019. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  14. ^ Alpher, Yossi (11 July 2008), What Kind of Interviewer Confuses Hamas and Hummus? Archived July 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, The Forward
  15. ^ ""Bruno" Pranks It Up". The Smoking Gun. April 26, 2012. Archived from the original on July 30, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  16. ^ "Gustaf Hammarsten – stjärna med rätt att tiga". Dagens Nyheter. Archived from the original on May 12, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  17. ^ (11 July 2008), NewsBlues – Brüno Dupes KETK[permanent dead link‍] (Subscription Required)
  18. ^ "Outed at Prop 8 rally". Chicago Tribune. November 4, 2008. Archived from the original on November 7, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2008.
  19. ^ Ausiello, Michael (November 7, 2008). "Exclusive: Bruno (a.k.a.) Sacha Baron Cohen Disrupts 'Medium' Archived January 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine", Entertainment Weekly, Retrieved on November 19, 2008.
  20. ^ a b "Is 'Brüno' Real or Fake?". TV Guide. July 27, 2009. p. 9.
  21. ^ Beam, Christopher (March 16, 2009). "Libertarians Gone Wild". Slate. Archived from the original on September 21, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  22. ^ (June 25, 2009)Michael Jackson Talk Radio, blog dated June 25, 2009 Archived July 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  23. RBI. Archived
    from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
  24. ^ "Sneak Peak [sic] at Bruno". The New Zealand Herald. June 18, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  25. ^ Premijera filma "Bruno" u Domu sindikata Archived July 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, SrbijaNet (in Serbian)
  26. ^ "Kolosej – Filmi – Brüno". www.kolosej.si. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  27. ^ "Bruno u Sarajevu prije ostatka svijeta". Archived from the original on July 18, 2009.
  28. Hollywood Insider
  29. ^ Hill, Catey. Scene with Michael Jackson, LaToya Jackson cut from Sacha Baron Cohen's "Bruno" Archived July 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, New York Daily News, June 26, 2009.
  30. ^ (June 26, 2009)Bruno: Michael Jackson-related scene permanently cut from film Archived June 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  31. ^ "Bruno DVD Details". Moviefone. Archived from the original on September 23, 2009.
  32. ^ Gray, Brandon (July 13, 2009). "Weekend Report: 'Bruno' Not as Brawny as 'Borat'". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  33. ^ "Bruno (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on January 15, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  34. CBS Interactive. Archived
    from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  35. ^ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on December 20, 2018.
  36. London Evening Standard. Archived
    from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  37. ^ Hiscock, John (June 18, 2009). "Brüno, review". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  38. ^ Hassan, Genevieve (June 18, 2008). "Film review: Bruno". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  39. ^ Ebert, Roger (June 8, 2009). "Brüno". RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  40. Future Publishing. Archived
    from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  41. ^ Scott, A.O. (July 9, 2009). "Teutonic Fashion Plate Flaunts His Umlauts". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  42. ^ Mankiewicz, Ben. "[Unknown title]". At the Movies. Archived from the original on September 9, 2008.
  43. ^ "The Slippery Slope of the MPAA's New Ratings Policy". Spangle Magazine. October 11, 2010. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
  44. ^ "Austrians say outrageous Bruno ist pretty funny". yahoo.com. Yahoo!7 News. Retrieved May 5, 2018.[dead link‍]
  45. ^ "Bruno tells Austrians to 'get über it' – Yahoo!7 News".[permanent dead link‍]
  46. ^ a b "'Bruno' banned in Ukraine". Kyiv Post. July 14, 2009. Archived from the original on July 16, 2009.
  47. ^ Вінницькі правозахисники закликають оскаржити рішення про заборону "Бруно" Archived July 18, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, TCH (July 16, 2009) (in Ukrainian)
  48. ISSN 0040-781X
    . Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  49. ^ У Києві зірвано прем’єру "Бруно" Archived July 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, TCH (July 23, 2009) (in Ukrainian)
  50. UNIAN
    (22 July 2009)
  51. ^ Shabi, Rachel (July 31, 2009). "The non-profit worker from Bethlehem who was branded a terrorist by Bruno". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  52. Huffington Post. Archived
    from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  53. ^ Mackey, Robert (August 6, 2009). "Did a Fake Interview With a 'Real Terrorist' in 'Brüno' Cross a Line?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 22, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  54. Time. August 4, 2009. Archived
    from the original on December 24, 2013.
  55. ^ "Ayman Abu Aita Sues 'Bruno,' Letterman For $110M". Huffington Post. December 9, 2009. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016.
  56. ^ Efrati, Amir (December 2, 2009). "Palestinian Deemed Terrorist in 'Bruno' Sues NBC, Baron Cohen". wsj.com. Archived from the original on August 24, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  57. ^ Lawsuit Camplaint. Wall Street Journal News Blog Archived May 5, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
  58. ^ Supreme Court Records Online Library Archived January 24, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, case 102524-2011
  59. ^ "Sacha Baron Cohen settles slander suit over grocer portrayed as terrorist in film". The Telegraph. July 20, 2012. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  60. ^ "Palestinian group threatens Sacha Baron Cohen." Archived July 31, 2009, at the Wayback Machine JTA, 28 July 2009.
  61. ^ Davies, Caroline (July 27, 2009). "Militant group issues threat over mockery in Bruno film". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brüno&oldid=1284458448"
This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article: Brüno. Articles is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; additional terms may apply.Privacy Policy