The Verdict on Bruno?

categories: LGBT Celebrities, LGBT Entertainment

Published July 13, 2009 @ 06:46AM PT

Bruno

It was opening weekend for Sacha Baron Cohen's much-publicized "Bruno," the new movie that features Cohen flaunting a larger than life gay persona and pranking his way up and down the entire country. Before the film was released, many folks were on one hand worried that "Bruno" would reinforce negative stereotypes about LGBT people, and on the other hand hopeful that Cohen's ability to poke fun at homophobia and bigotry would advance LGBT rights and point out just how silly those who oppose gay rights are. So, now that the film is out, where does "Bruno" fall?

Well, if box office numbers have anything to do with it, people seemed to like it. "Bruno" made more than $30 million this weekend, placing it at number one on Hollywood's charts. But the film certainly saw it's share of detractors, from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), to bloggers and critics alike. So, here's a question for you: After it's first weekend, did "Bruno" help or hurt (or have absolutely nothing to do with) the larger LGBT rights movement?

Here are a few responses from around the web. We'll start with the Good (2), then head to the bad (2), and then head to the ugly (just 1!).

1. The Bilerico Project (DC): "Homophobes aren't going to venture anywhere near a theater where Brüno is playing. And if they do, they'll walk out before the going gets really good. Meanwhile, those straight folk who choose to pad Brüno's box office this weekend are likely already in our court. They're wise to the joke, acutely aware that the sexual antics performed early on by Brüno and his boytoy are way beyond absurd. No one in their right mind will think gays stick champagne bottles up their butts. At least, not on a regular basis. Just special occasions."

2. Slate.com: "Borat and Brüno are comedies of difference, documentaries of bigotry, and they more or less require the viewer to pick a side. Baron Cohen doesn't play nice, but there's real value to the aggression of his literally confrontational method. How many political entertainments can match the satisfaction of watching Borat trash an antique store full of Confederate kitsch or Brüno compliment an ex-gay preacher/deprogrammer's "amazing blow-job lips"? For the climax of Brüno, which echoes the rodeo scene in Borat, Baron Cohen, disguised as a tough-guy wrestler, starts making out with another man mid-cage match, sending the drunken mob into a horrified frenzy. Leave it to a movie with a talking penis to come up with a brilliant tactic against homophobia: the gay-panic offense."

3. GLAAD: "The makers of the film "Bruno," Sacha Baron Cohen's just-released follow-up to "Borat," have said that they intend to satirize and expose homophobia. But even when filmmakers have the best of intentions, there can be a disconnect between the concept and the execution. In "Bruno," the satire often loses sight of the way gay people are treated in real life....We live in a world where far too many still mistreat and abuse gay people, deny us the ability to take care of the ones we love and exclude us from fully participating in the life of our communities. For a major studio film with a massive cultural footprint to pile even more stereotypes and discomfort onto an already hostile climate -- despite what are inarguably the best of intentions -- doesn't make the work of changing and overcoming it any easier."

4. Socialist Worker Online: "The first thing that strikes you is that this is a grotesquely homophobic film, a compendium of everything that a particularly bigoted 12 year old boy might think he knows about gay people....Sacha Baron Cohen is clearly an intelligent and creative person. He could presumably produce a film worth remembering in some way. But Bruno deserves to be forgotten about as quickly as possible."

5. Carlos in DC: "The worst thing about this movie it makes gay people look really bad, as if we all are sex addicts and dildo-obsessed drag queens, with a thirst for money and fame so extreme that we would do anything to get them. To be that way, one doesn't need to be gay. And of course the film is racist as it can be. Mexican men are used as chairs and furniture, and a Black kid is used as a toy, an Asian gay man is portrayed as a submissive sex slave."

So what's your opinion? Let us know!

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Comments (23)

This movie is by no means racist nor against homosexuals.

It shows us how people that are actually like this act. It shows the true ridiciliousness of a large majority of our population.

He fills in the stereotypes that some people believe in, that the rest of us know is not true.

Posted by Alex Montagna on 07/13/2009 @ 07:37AM PT
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For every "appalling," "shocking," and "over the top" scene, there is a direct and very real representation -- if not exact same -- of the situation.

Bruno just shoved all things ridiculous in our faces, saying, "Look at who and what we are. Isn't it absurd?"

If anything, it should be a humbling remind of the bigotry of the nation we live in.

Posted by Beth Parrozzo on 07/13/2009 @ 09:06AM PT
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ITS A MOVIE. NOT REAL. PEOPLE SHOULD NOT GET TOO BENT OUT OF SHAPE, BUT THATS NOT REALITY!

Posted by MEGAN HOULIHAN on 07/13/2009 @ 09:46AM PT
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It's disgusting, vile, offensive and a completely inaccurate view of life as a gay man - but I laughed until I almost wet myself.

It's unbelievable to me that people are so concerned about this movie damaging the gay rights movement. It is very obvious that the movie is far from the reality of your every day gay man. Not only that, but the movie goes immediately past any possible pretense in the opening scene. At that point, anyone uncomfortable with the idea of homosexuality would have left the cinema, assuming any were there in the first place.

Posted by Jay Says on 07/13/2009 @ 10:54AM PT
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What Jay said: it's a satire and an extreme caricature of the stereotype of the effiminate gay man, and only the most narrow-minded heteros would not get it that the gay sex and lifestyle shown in the film is nothing but a wild exaggeration which doesn't get even remotely close to reality. I found the film rather so-so overall but will admit that it was very funny in places and some scenes were very effective in exposing and shaming people for their irrational hatred of gays and lesbians. In that respect I thought it was a wise decision to end the film with the crowd riots in Alabama - this atones for everything else that may have been well-intended but might backfire (not sure that everyone who had to be converted through this film will have gotten the satire behind his talkshow appearance with the black baby).

Posted by Tim Kopp on 07/13/2009 @ 12:17PM PT
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I saw Bruno in Redding, California this past weekend. Yes, Redding! I went alone to an evening screening while there on family business.

I can report that the theater was packed with date-nighters who yipped, woo-hoo’d and otherwise oh-yawed the films “satire”. They liked it and not for the reasons gay people do.

Having lived in Los Angeles, San Francisco and now Seattle my husband and I have had a relative rarified life insulated from those homophobic. We are not naive however. Everyone processes media from their individual point of view.

My experience in the theater Saturday night confirms my prior notion that gay people are not the target audience for this film. Sadly the producers targeted the audience that will haul in the bucks, one that largely misses the satire and latches on the stereotypes which support their homophobia.

Some argue that the film’s producers were well intended satirists. I disagree. The producers did exactly what they intended to do, cleverly exploit gay stereotypes.

Posted by Carl Hendrickson on 07/13/2009 @ 12:30PM PT
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What's the one thing that wins public support over to our side faster than anything else? Conversations. If the movie causes conversations -- and it does! a lot! -- then in the long run, it can only help.

Posted by Matt Baume on 07/13/2009 @ 12:46PM PT
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I respectfully disagree with the assertion that because it made $30 million that people, "...liked it." A closer inspection of those numbers reveals a different story. Bruno had its best night Friday night, followed by steep declines in revenue on both Saturday and Sunday. Typically, Saturday is the day with the heaviest amount of moviegoers. This could be a result of several factors, to be sure, but I think with the size of the drop (boxofficemojo.com) we can be assured that people were turned off, giving bad reviews to their friends.

In general, I think Bruno is bad for gays. Great article here.

http://activism.ology.com/2009/06/16/bruno-movie-offensive-or-hilarious/

Posted by Justin Eppley on 07/13/2009 @ 01:58PM PT
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Matt --

Spurring conversations about cowboys who cannot love one another because of society is one thing -- conversations about the stereotypes reinforced on screen in this movie are another. I doubt there were many intelligent conversations outside major liberal big cities about the penis scenes and the sex scenes right off the bat.

I simply just doubt it.

Posted by Justin Eppley on 07/13/2009 @ 02:01PM PT
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Geeez... I'm gay and see nothing wrong with this movie, AT ALL! How many movies are there with stereotypical straight characters? A LOT! So to my fellow gay and lesbian friends, chill the heck out!

Posted by Graham Smith on 07/13/2009 @ 04:34PM PT
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I've been told it would offend me, but I'm seeing it anyways. We could all go back and forth all day on what does or doesn't represent us well. While Queer As Folk and Will & Grace opened doors for us, they both gave America the wrong idea of what the average gay person is like. Not to say that those shows are bad, I just can't identify with them.

Posted by Sean Stidham on 07/13/2009 @ 04:55PM PT
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But really, if Will & Grace wasn't representative, or Queer as Folk or even The "L" Word - what does represent a community as diverse as our own?

How accurately can you portray a community of people with drag queens and bull riders, club kids and book worms, white and black, etc. etc. etc. You can't. All of our stories are so vastly different. What is the average gay person like?

Posted by Jay Says on 07/13/2009 @ 09:19PM PT
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Speaking as a heterosexual man, I would say mr. says that the homosexual community is a lot like the heterosexual community with the exception of different sexual orientations which leads to different ways of expressing them...In other words were all of us human and were all of us different so really, no one movie or show could ever accuratly portray how all of us are.

Having said that...I tend to be uncomfortable with any form of media reinforcing negative steriotypes about anyone who does no harm simply by their existance.

Posted by Thomas McHugh on 07/16/2009 @ 02:18PM PT
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I agree. There is NO way that a single show/movie can show ALL of the many types of homosexual people, the same way that there's no way a single show/movie could show all of the different kinds of heterosexual people. You know why? Because homosexual and heterosexual people are almost the exact same, with the only difference being their sexual orientation.

I have met bigoted, or nerdy, or successful, or still living with their parents, nice, and hateful people from both groups.

As soon as people (on BOTH ends of the spectrum) realize that there is one, and ONLY one, difference between the gay and straight communities, then we'll keep having the same old debates.

Besides, this is just a movie. Get over it, people. Especially YOU, GLAAD. You're starting to tick me off! Fight about important issues, not stupid movies which are obviously supposed to be ridiculously over-the-top. Jeez!

Posted by Prop Kid on 11/13/2009 @ 08:44AM PT
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Though Bruno sounds like a movie high of a comedic purpose, the LGBT community portrayed in the movie is false as stated by Carlos in DC. And although the movie portrays streotypes on LGBT people that are almost entirely false, the comedy is meant to be a hypberbole in order to achieve the movie's hillarious parts. My verdict is that the movie is acceptable but barely as it shows racism and intolerance to LGBT people by reinforcing that community's stereotypes.

Posted by Edwin Bonilla on 07/13/2009 @ 05:20PM PT
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I'm getting really tired of everyone crying about their differences. People just like the attention! It's ridiculous. Let it go and move on. It's a movie, it makes fun of a group of people. Definitely not the first of it's kind!

Posted by Ann Marie on 07/13/2009 @ 07:32PM PT
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I thought it was a very funny movie, you need to take a "light hearted approach" to it or you will be offended.

i think sasha baren cohen has a great way on delving into "taboo" issues to bring out the "funny" in them.

im actually surprised he wasnt in any way hurt/maimed or even killed making this, especially going to the middle east and acting as he did!

A good watch for the light hearted with a sense of humor

Posted by Rebecca Fowler on 07/14/2009 @ 12:04AM PT
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If you think this move is bad for gays... than you obviously didn't watch his last movie.. I'm assuming that one was bad for Jews...

It's comedy.

Posted by Alex Montagna on 07/14/2009 @ 04:04AM PT
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The thing about Borat & Bruno is it makes people face some very uncomfortable truths - "It wouldn't be so funny if it wasn't true." I remember laughing so hard at the rodeo scene in Borat I nearly wet myself - because the reaction of the people to him not because of what he was doing.

People who "get it" will always get it, and those that don't... well, not sure I want to know them anyway.

Posted by Lisa Smolen on 07/14/2009 @ 07:01AM PT
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Amen, Lisa! It's meant to be funny, not political. At least in my opinion!

Posted by kristen blythe on 07/17/2009 @ 03:02PM PT
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I think it's important to remember the crisis point of which our (LGBT) community is currently in. Maybe five years ago this wouldn't be quite so disturbing. But we are in the middle of fighting for our civil rights (and have a chance of getting them!).....things are bound to be touchy.

And about that comment about seeing it in a smaller town. I'm from Hillsboro, Oregon, and I can guarentee it that my family - if they choose to see it - will be laughing for ALL the wrong reasons. I find Sacha Cohen brilliant, but i'm just not sure this is the right time for this movie, when we're trying to win over the hearts and minds of middle america.

Posted by JR Paulson on 07/19/2009 @ 09:45AM PT
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I loved this movie. It was offensive but it revealed how offensive others can be too. Notice it wasn't sitting on a Mexican that drove Paula Abdul away, but eating lunch off of a naked overweight guy.

Also, the LGBT struggle for civil rights is a constant and I think anytime is a good time for a provocative work of art.

I think this movie is more than just marketed negative stereotypes for comedy, but that is the bait of the whole premise. As a Gay man, my life is nothing like Bruno's except for the kinky sex, the techno, the yearning for fame, the love of fashion and the sassy attitude.

Posted by Justin Belsley on 07/20/2009 @ 05:00PM PT
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@Justin: I didn't like the movie, just because it's not my taste, but your comment, "As a Gay man, my life is nothing like Bruno's except for the kinky sex, the techno, the yearning for fame, the love of fashion and the sassy attitude," cracked me up. Sadly, I know a guy who is eerily like Bruno.

I definitely agree with you on the point that any time is a good time for provacative art. Or any art, really. First amendment and all that. Don't try to put a lid on someone's form of expression because it's inconvenient. That's life. Laugh about it and move on. This movie will not have (and has not had) any long term ramifications for *anyone*, let alone the gay agenda. The only ones who were stoking the flames were the one's who wanted it to go away.

Posted by Prop Kid on 11/13/2009 @ 08:52AM PT
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Michael is the Communications Director for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, and previously was Communications Director for Pax Christi USA, a progressive Catholic human rights organization.