Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen is back to wreak havoc in America this weekend as Rolling Stone movie critic Peter Travers is At the Movies with Brüno. This time around, Cohen stars as a gay Austrian fashionista looking to find fame in the United States. By now, you've seen the commercials, and we don't want to ruin any of the gags, so we'll keep the plot summary at a minimum. "This guy to me is doing the type of comedy that this country needs more than ever," Travers says of the must-see film. "This is shocking, but shocking in a good way."
(Read Peter Travers' full Brüno review here.)
Like Borat, Brüno confronts many of America's most controversial subjects, except this time in addition to attacking the bigots and racists, Cohen is taking potshots at the entire culture of celebrity worship. An unsuspecting Paula Abdul is just one of the unsuspecting pawns in Cohen's comedy. While some will say Cohen is just copycatting the Borat formula, Travers compares Cohen's work to that of the great satirist Jonathan Swift. Cohen is "holding up a mirror to us," Travers says, imploring everyone who might be reading this to go and see Brüno immediately.
For every great comedy, there's always 10 bad ones, and this week's doozy is called I Love You, Beth Cooper. The film stars Hayden Panettiere as a popular cheerleader who falls for her school's nerdy valedictorian. In case you're unfamiliar with Panettiere, Travers points out that the actress also plays the cheerleader on Heroes. She also played a cheerleader in Bring It On: All Or Nothing. It goes without saying that Panettiere is very comfortable playing roles that require cheerleading, just like it goes without saying that I Love You, Beth Cooper is Scum Bucket-bound.
Read this week's reviews:
Brüno
I Love You, Beth Cooper
>>Watch every episode of our weekly Peter Travers video podcast by subscribing via iTunes (when prompted, click “Launch application”). Every Friday, a new episode will be delivered to your iTunes. [If you don’t have iTunes, download it here.]
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Eddie | July 19, 2009 7:18 PM
Ok, first of let me say that Peter Traver's has to be one the most respectful and coolest critics around. Secondly, I love how he points out that Bruno and Borat are two completely DIFFERENT movies. Apples and oranges people, both are funny in their own right. I love all the criticism the Bruno is getting because it really shows that people can laugh at a foreigner, but can't stand to watch a homosexual delivering comedy. It's a win-win situation for Sacha Baron Cohen. Laugh with him, or be an uptight self-righteous member of a perforated society and prove him right.
Naoma | July 16, 2009 7:33 PM
I saw "Bruno" the day it came out. Theater was fairly empty but no
one walked out. I laughed so hard throughout that my sides hurt, and when I left the theater I was
still laughing -- going over in
my mind some of the scenes. I
hope it offends everyone! Did not
offend me one bit.
Jamie Miranda | July 13, 2009 8:43 PM
I loved Borat but I feel that Bruno was EVEN BETTER because it bravely tackled a topic that people clearly do not feel comfortable with in America: HOMOSEXUALITY. In today's movie marketplace, that was an extremely risky move. Kudos to Sasha Baron Cohen and the studio financing him to have the balls to take the gamble. If people don't like this movie, they're just trying to be cool and above it all. Fuck 'em.
Bruno is a classic film that will be remembered among the all-time great satiric comedies. Mark my words.
kyler | July 13, 2009 4:26 PM
borat was awesome!!!!!!!
Steve | July 12, 2009 9:27 PM
Bruno was pure genius! If one cannot laugh at this movie they are truly blind to the homophobia which exists in this country. This completely blew away any other comedy this summer. I pity the people who found "the Hangover" to be funny. One had to have minimal knowledge of current events to understand this movie.
JP | July 12, 2009 6:56 PM
Great insights, Fernando. You really set me straight with your thoughtful analysis. How could I have been so blind.
Let me rebut you well thought out thesis, if I may. I have a friend who raved about how great "Transformers" and "Borat" was. So much so, that she lent me both movies, because I refused to spend a dime to watch them. Having seen them, I saw through the hype and recognize that they were sub-par entertainment.
Recently, my friend came back from watching "Transformers 2" and hated it. I asked if she was excited about "Bruno". She said "No". She watched "Borat" again for the second time and wondered what she thought was so funny the first time she watched it. She concluded that she got caught up laughing with other people in the audience when she saw in the theater. Watching the movie again without the hype on her mind and people laughing around her, she realized that I was right about how lame that movie was.
So, trash is trash. Sooner or later, most people will see through the hype and peer pressure and recognize it. However, there will be some people who perfer to live the unexamined life. Who will continue to defend trash as along as there are a vocal majority of people still say that it's great.
sara | July 11, 2009 1:35 PM
like borat it was pretty empty as a movie. definitely not something i would suggest to friends as a movie to see.
JP | July 10, 2009 11:37 PM
"Borat" is the most overrated movie this decade. I predict, like "Transformer 2", alot of people will get tired of this empty schtick. If it's anything like "Borat", it will have a few genuine laughs. Alas, it be alot of sloppily edited together "Candid Camera"/"Punk'd" -like pranks that wouldn't be as funny than it will be annoying.
lala | July 10, 2009 6:06 AM
the video doesn`t work