Bruno

[Rule]

Anyone seen this?  I heard some excerpts on the radio that sounded pretty funny. 

Ron Paul is in this movie.  I saw clips of the scene on the Internet.  I think this part would have been a lot more funny if he had chosen an obviously corrupt conservative like Carl Rove.... I felt a bit bad for Paul .  He's so innocent.

[Quik]

Saw it last night. It has its funny moments, but it's definitely no Borat. Don't even bother if you're homophobic. Lots of situational comedy, most seems pretty fake/staged/scripted. Lots of male frontal nudity. Not really a movie to go run out and see in theaters, but that's my opinion.

[iago]

Don't even bother if you're homophobic.

I got the opposite impression from seeing the commercials -- that it's basically a movie made for homophobes (or, at least, people who think homosexuality is a joke). Am I incorrect? (I don't pay much attention to commercials these days)

[Rule]

Don't even bother if you're homophobic.

I got the opposite impression from seeing the commercials -- that it's basically a movie made for homophobes (or, at least, people who think homosexuality is a joke). Am I incorrect? (I don't pay much attention to commercials these days)

Knowing Sacha Baron Cohen, he definitely intended more to have fun at the expense of homophobes, and to expose homophobia, than to entertain homophobes.

For example, this is an old Bruno sketch, where he interviews a "Gay Converter" priest.   It gives you a feel for what the character is about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LazrAzBP_0I

Lots of situational comedy, most seems pretty fake/staged/scripted.

Apparently it's all real

[Towelie]

This movie was absolutely 100% ridiculous. I had some good laughs lol

[Quik]

Don't even bother if you're homophobic.

I got the opposite impression from seeing the commercials -- that it's basically a movie made for homophobes (or, at least, people who think homosexuality is a joke). Am I incorrect? (I don't pay much attention to commercials these days)

It's definitely meant to laugh at people who are severely homophobic.. Also, the gratuitous amounts of male nudity and blatantly gay EVERYTHING suggest that homophobic people would not be comfortable.

[iago]

Against my better judgement, I went and saw it last night. And, despite the fact that I hate how he reinforces the homosexual stereotype, it was pretty good.

I wasn't really impressed with Ron Paul in it, though. He basically ignored it for awhile (which is fine), then took off and kept saying "he got all queer on me" or something -- not the kind of reaction you'd see from a tolerant person, IMO.

Ohwell.

[Towelie]

Against my better judgement, I went and saw it last night. And, despite the fact that I hate how he reinforces the homosexual stereotype, it was pretty good.

I wasn't really impressed with Ron Paul in it, though. He basically ignored it for awhile (which is fine), then took off and kept saying "he got all queer on me" or something -- not the kind of reaction you'd see from a tolerant person, IMO.

Ohwell.

I think even a "tolerant" person would act like that lol. I was more surprised that they could meatspin us in a movie theater than by the reaction he gave haha

[Armin]

the fuck? meatspin? are you serious?

[Rule]

I just saw it.  I didn't think it was as good as Borat, but it has some really funny parts.  I think my favourite part was when he was screening his idea for a show to a test audience.  His "interview" with Harrison Ford was awesome.

"There's always one...." 
"There's always two....."

[Camel]

It was good for a laugh or two, but I feel like I wasted $10. Half of the people in the theater got up and left part way through.

[iago]

It was good for a laugh or two, but I feel like I wasted $10. Half of the people in the theater got up and left part way through.

Tough crowd.. that didn't happen here.

I'm curious, what part was it at? Was it because of the nudity and such, or just a general dislike?

[Rule]

It was good for a laugh or two, but I feel like I wasted $10. Half of the people in the theater got up and left part way through.

That's strange.. were not that many people there in the first place?  

My theatre was only about 1/4 full, but no-one left as far as I could tell.   I don't really see why anyone would leave, assuming people have a vague idea of what the movie is about before they buy a ticket.

I suspect the worst reaction would be from people expecting to go to a movie making fun of homosexuals, and then being disturbed by the over the top homosexuality.

[deadly7]

I just saw it.  I didn't think it was as good as Borat, but it has some really funny parts.  I think my favourite part was when he was screening his idea for a show to a test audience.  His "interview" with Harrison Ford was awesome.

"There's always one...." 
"There's always two....."

I think it's kind of strange someone as intellectual as you enjoyed this and Borat.

[Camel]

Half of the people in the theater got up and left part way through.

I'm curious, what part was it at? Was it because of the nudity and such, or just a general dislike?

It was an 11 o'clock show on a weeknight, so there weren't many people there, maybe like 30 total?  It was before the worst of it, for sure.

[Blaze]

I just saw it.  I didn't think it was as good as Borat, but it has some really funny parts.  I think my favourite part was when he was screening his idea for a show to a test audience.  His "interview" with Harrison Ford was awesome.

"There's always one...." 
"There's always two....."

I think it's kind of strange someone as intellectual as you enjoyed this and Borat.

Because intellectuals should wash their face at such a travesty of modern entertainment!  Jolly ho, good chap!  Now I must be off to bet with Charles which of the homeless will win in a fight of the fists!  Good day!

[Armin]

^ post of the week

[iago]

I just saw it.  I didn't think it was as good as Borat, but it has some really funny parts.  I think my favourite part was when he was screening his idea for a show to a test audience.  His "interview" with Harrison Ford was awesome.

"There's always one...." 
"There's always two....."

I think it's kind of strange someone as intellectual as you enjoyed this and Borat.

Because intellectuals should wash their face at such a travesty of modern entertainment!  Jolly ho, good chap!  Now I must be off to bet with Charles which of the homeless will win in a fight of the fists!  Good day!

fisticuffs*

[Rule]

I just saw it.  I didn't think it was as good as Borat, but it has some really funny parts.  I think my favourite part was when he was screening his idea for a show to a test audience.  His "interview" with Harrison Ford was awesome.

"There's always one...." 
"There's always two....."

I think it's kind of strange someone as intellectual as you enjoyed this and Borat.

Cohen is a smart guy, with a good education.  And he is brilliant at what he does -- improvisational comedy.

Admittedly, the plot is horrible, and a lot of it is in "bad taste", but it's often clever and funny.

My favourite comedies are probably Dumb and Dumber, There's Something about Mary, Cable Guy, and Borat. 
 

[deadly7]

Cohen is a smart guy, with a good education.  And he is brilliant at what he does -- improvisational comedy.

Admittedly, the plot is horrible, and a lot of it is in "bad taste", but it's often clever and funny.

My favourite comedies are probably Dumb and Dumber, There's Something about Mary, Cable Guy, and Borat. 

To be clear, it's not Cohen I have a problem with -- I think he's great and actually enjoyed seeing him in non-comedic roles. In addition to what you said about the plot being stupid, I also just think that it's a dumb kind of humor. For me to enjoy this movie on the same level as the droves of people that I know, I'd have to actively not think about anything being said or done. I personally am not a fan of humor that promotes my being mindless. *shrug*

[Armin]

Eventually, you may learn the value in being able to turn off your mind, relax, and enjoy a mindless movie.

[iago]

I like to think that, whether or not it's intentional,  mindless humour often means something deeper than the surface humour -- a commentary on social norms, another way of looking at life, or just people being forced to re-evaluate their outlooks on certain things.

It isn't present in all comedy, and it's not always on purpose when it is, but I find that there's frequelt opportunities to think about mindless movies.

Also what Armin said.

[deadly7]

Eventually, you may learn the value in being able to turn off your mind, relax, and enjoy a mindless movie.

I find solace in other things, not movies. Many times I've tuned out of everything while reading, just lounging, etc.

I like to think that, whether or not it's intentional,  mindless humour often means something deeper than the surface humour -- a commentary on social norms, another way of looking at life, or just people being forced to re-evaluate their outlooks on certain things.

It isn't present in all comedy, and it's not always on purpose when it is, but I find that there's frequelt opportunities to think about mindless movies.

Having not seen all of Borat nor any of Bruno, I can't say whether or not this is true for them. However, when it comes to many other movies I've seen that promote this kind of humor, I'm fairly certain that's not the case. Maybe I just have a shitty selection of movies.

[iago]

Having not seen all of Borat nor any of Bruno, I can't say whether or not this is true for them. However, when it comes to many other movies I've seen that promote this kind of humor, I'm fairly certain that's not the case. Maybe I just have a shitty selection of movies.

Name some?

There are definitely moves that I hate because of brainlessness. Superbad comes to mind.

[Lead]

Having not seen all of Borat nor any of Bruno, I can't say whether or not this is true for them. However, when it comes to many other movies I've seen that promote this kind of humor, I'm fairly certain that's not the case. Maybe I just have a shitty selection of movies.

Name some?

There are definitely moves that I hate because of brainlessness. Superbad comes to mind.

Superbad was a HORRIBLE movie.

[deadly7]

Name some?

There are definitely moves that I hate because of brainlessness. Superbad comes to mind.

Comedies I have seen that I enjoyed: most Pixar movies, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Get Smart, Zoolander, Super Troopers, Office Space, Mallrats, Anchorman, Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Waterboy, Eurotrip, Hitch, Rush Hour, Ferris Bueller's Day Off,

Comedies I have seen that I did not enjoy*: Tropic Thunder, Pineapple Express, Chuck and Larry, Borat, American Pie and any of its sequels, Superbad, the remake of Fun with Dick and Jane, Son of the Mask, Jackass: the Movie, Shrek 2, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, Big Fat Liar, the majority of the Home Alone series, Legally Blonde, Napolean Dynamite, Cheaper by the Dozen, Don't Mess with the Zohan
* = I dont claim to have sat through every movie on that list. Many of them I fell asleep or walked out of or turned off, depending on whichever medium I watched it through.

[iago]

Name some?

There are definitely moves that I hate because of brainlessness. Superbad comes to mind.

Comedies I have seen that I enjoyed: most Pixar movies, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Get Smart, Zoolander, Super Troopers, Office Space, Mallrats, Anchorman, Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Waterboy, Eurotrip, Hitch, Rush Hour, Ferris Bueller's Day Off,

Comedies I have seen that I did not enjoy*: Tropic Thunder, Pineapple Express, Chuck and Larry, Borat, American Pie and any of its sequels, Superbad, the remake of Fun with Dick and Jane, Son of the Mask, Jackass: the Movie, Shrek 2, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, Big Fat Liar, the majority of the Home Alone series, Legally Blonde, Napolean Dynamite, Cheaper by the Dozen, Don't Mess with the Zohan
* = I dont claim to have sat through every movie on that list. Many of them I fell asleep or walked out of or turned off, depending on whichever medium I watched it through.

I liked the Jackass movies and its brethren. Dunno why. It's pretty mindless. But eh?

I also liked the American Pie series -- the first 5, anyway. Wasn't a huge fan of the last one, Beta House?

Haven't seen most of the rest of that list.

[Rule]

Haha, people seem to be assuming Borat and Bruno are mindless, and I don't get that assumption.

What makes it mindless?  You'd have to be a lot more clever than Will Ferrell in "Anchorman" to improvise a character like Borat or Bruno, in the way Cohen does....

A lot of the things he says, and the way he manages to evoke responses from people, is very clever. 

[deadly7]

A lot of the things he says, and the way he manages to evoke responses from people, is very clever. 

I agree that Cohen himself is a fantastic portrayer of everything absurd about the stereotypes he portrays in his movies. But for me, that's not enough to get into a movie and not go "This is really stupid." If that's what he intended his audience to do (realize the stereotypes) then it "worked" on me in the sense I noticed them. But I think he overplayed them, so I found enjoying it while thinking about them impossible. Hence, being "mindless" was one of my prerequisites to enjoying the movie.

[Quik]

Having not seen all of Borat nor any of Bruno, I can't say whether or not this is true for them. However, when it comes to many other movies I've seen that promote this kind of humor, I'm fairly certain that's not the case. Maybe I just have a shitty selection of movies.

Name some?

There are definitely moves that I hate because of brainlessness. Superbad comes to mind.

Superbad was a HORRIBLE movie.

I'd like to hear some of the reasoning behind all the people knocking Superbad..

In my opinion, it was beautifully scripted and wonderfully acted. I know more than a few of the members of this forum can relate to those characters.

It's got almost 8 stars on IMDb, that has to count for something.

[warz]

Superbad was awesome. All of the movies that deadly7 listed in his liked/disliked movies are basically the same types of movies - wtf, quit being confused by general humor. You're all homos.

[Warrior]

Superbad fucking rocks.

[Towelie]

Superbad was awesome. All of the movies that deadly7 listed in his liked/disliked movies are basically the same types of movies - wtf, quit being confused by general humor. You're all homos.

I like those movies too. Superbad used to be my favorite movie, until I saw it >10 times and finally got tired of it