JIM Reviews film "BRUNO" -- The free-wheeling, purposely-crude routines are often Disappointing

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“BRUNO” – The free-wheeling, purposely-crude routines are often Disappointing =

Rating: 6 of 10 stars (based on an advance preview).

The ads make it clear SASHA BARON COHEN as “Bruno” is playing a swishy GAY character— but it implies it’s based on his being a “fashion”-designer. There are some scenes of that at the beginning, but it’s almost a thin “EXCUSE” for his generic identity wherein he works almost OVERLY hard (pardon the pun) to be as sexually crude as he thinks he can get away with.

… Most of the movie is a series of attempts to “PUNK” numerous people with ridiculous hard-to-believe propositions, and he amazingly succeeds with PAULA ABDUL & a number of other almost-oblivious, overly “accepting” people. Some of the seemingly-real routines are really FUNNY (such as his pretending to be a recruit at a National Guard type boot camp, & as a guy seeking to “convert” from being homosexual, & at a Dallas talk show as an “adopter” dad of a BLACK kid supposedly “bought” in Africa)…

… But, far outnumbering the somewhat CLEVER “commentaries” on sexual & other prejudices (including his hosting a supposedly ANTI-gay smack-down type “combat” in a ring down South), there are a bunch of (admittedly) “OUTRAGEOUS” but repeatedly OVERDONE sexual acts that seemed designed more to appall & get a “sensationalist” aura for the movie than even trying to be comical or witty. A lady friend commented that she really liked the way Cohen not only “threatened” to do a bunch of deliberately-SHOCKING things, but that he “had the balls to really DO them!” Her words are accurate— but I didn’t “appreciate” his efforts as much as she did, finding them frequently “feeble” & far-too-often ultimately hollow…

… The film company (UNIVERSAL) was almost paranoid in the way it demanded everyone turn in CELL phones before the advance screening, even if the phone (like mine) had no ability to take photos or record anything. I quite support general anti-piracy efforts (tho today’s was excessive to me). My point is that, while it probably won’t “mean” much to them, after seeing this film, I WOULDN’T WANT to “share” it with much of anyone!…

… I LIKE “political-incorrectness” & “cutting-edge”, risk-taking things in general; but, while this movie is not horrible, far too much of it simply WASN’T all that that “funny”, & too much of it was sadly DISAPPOINTING to me (being “shock” merely for the sake of getting a “reputation” for being offensive)… In other words, I found it to be more Shock SCHLOCK than anything “special”…