DVD Review: Bruno

Bruno
Written by: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Mazer, Jeff Schaffer, and Peter Baynham
Directed by: Larry Charles
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen and Gustaf Hammarsten

Bonus features include Deleted, Extended and Alternate Scenes and Behind the Scenes revelations on how the various interviews were pulled off.

From the box:

Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Da Ali G Show and Talladega Nights) brings you the comedy that has started more conversations, generated more controversy and dared to go further than ever before!

As bruno travels the world in search of fame, everyone he encounters - celebrities, politicians, Hasidic Jews, terrorists and cage fighters - becomes a stepping-stone to stardom, with hilarious results!

So prepare yourself for nonstop laughs in the film Rolling Stone says should be "Numero Uno on your funnytime list!"

Sacha Baron Cohen's follow up to the hilarious Borat isn't quite as successful but it is still wildly funny and has just been released on DVD.

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Bruno is an often times hilarious films that carries on the tradition of putting people in uncomfortable situations that Cohen seems to have perfected. The difference is that in this film, things don't feel quite as innocent or spontaneous.

What I mean to say is that Bruno feels too much like a movie. Part of the charm of Borat is that it never felt like we were watching a movie. It felt enough like a documentary to believe the situations we were seeing.

Bruno is held back by the attempt to weave some kind of a story through it rather than focus on what the strongest parts were, the character himself and the situations he created.

Still, Bruno is hilarious and despite the lack of complete believability, I still enjoyed the film. The film works best when Bruno is dealing with real people and exposing some of the darkness that still permeates through our cultures, most especially at the cage match, not too mention the stage moms which was jaw dropping.

When it works, Bruno is brilliant, but it isn't a complete success and when it misses (which admittedly isn't often) it is jarring.

The DVD release is full of deleted scenes, including the infamous scene featuring LaToya Jackson that was cut after the death of her brother. It's a nice collection of scenes and behind the scenes information.

I would have hoped for a director's cut of the rumored NC-17 version. Considering what made it into the theatrical cut, I can't imagine what would be left.

Crude humor, disturbing revelations, and full frontal nudity make up Bruno so if you can handle that, then check it out. It's not as sincere as Borat was but it still generates barrel laughs you probably haven't heard since well...Borat.

Bruno is available on DVD and Blu-ray now.