Since the release of "Bruno", I've had seen a host of negative reviews for the film that really had me wondering how Sacha Baron Cohen could have gotten this film so wrong. After seeing the film, I believe I understand why some people feel as they do.
It seems that many of these reviewers who see "Bruno" in a negative light do so because the film did not live up to the greatness of "Borat". However, this is not a flaw with the film; it is a flaw with the viewer.
"Borat" was a masterpiece. The specialness of "Borat" was like lightning in a bottle that could never be duplicated and it's partially why Cohen retired the character. "Bruno" is obviously cut from the same cloth as "Borat", but fails to amaze us in the same way because this kind of film is no longer original to us. We've now been there and done that.
"Bruno" is a very funny movie, but it's unfortunate that it cannot escape the large shadow that "Borat" has cast. It reminds me very much in how M. Night Shyamalan's "Unbreakable" could not live up to his legendary, "Sixth Sense".
Even though we knew we were getting an entirely different movie with M. Night's sophmore effort, many people were still expecting, "The Sixth Sense II". When they didn't get that or an ending that impacted them as much, they saw it as a disappointment. The truth is that "Unbreakable" did not fail us; people's expectations failed them.
"Unbreakable" is a very good stand-alone film and also has a pretty darn good ending -- it's just that the ending isn't in the same league as "The Sixth Sense" (although very few movie endings are). It's a shame that some people have let this affect their appreciation for this film.
Admittedly, "Bruno" was not as great as "Borat", but that doesn't mean it wasn't good. Personally, I laughed more than not during those 90-minutes. If you compare "Bruno" to every other comedy released over the last 5-years, IMO, it would only be bested by no more than a handful of them.
I am absolutely convinced that if there were never a "Borat", more people would love with this film. Even part of me is guilty of comparing the two, but I never let it get in the way of my enjoyment of this film. Unfortunately, others are unable to leave "Borat" out of the equation when watching this movie. It's really their loss because "Bruno" is a pretty darn good flick.
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