Brüno: gone far, gone down

Man, I should really go and set up a to-do list on things I want to review. There are a dozen or so movies that I haven’t even mentioned yet but probably should, if only for my own peace of mind. But here’s the thing: time. I don’t have it. So I’ll just squeeze this in here and call it a music blog from now on.

Brüno

Brüno.  Those who know me also know how much I loved Borat. I admire Sacha Baron Cohen for his ability to play it off like he was, in fact, the character he’s playing. And you know what, I think that guys actually crazy, a schizophrenic who has done a marvellous job on covering up his other side by pretending to be some sort of actor. It is insane. And Borat, as much as I cringed at the cliché of that person right there on the big screen, Borat made a fucking difference to my own intake of media and American society.

Yes, Borat was clever, witty and critical. Borat evoked reactions that are hard to believe for a person of average intelligence. That’s what I expected from Brüno, because no doubt, this was the intention of Cohen. At least I hope it was. Yet ultimatley, although I cried and screamed even harder at the sights of swinging penises and swinging couples, there was much less, if nothing of what I had clapped to after watching Borat.

Borat did rather naive things and documented the stupidity or credulity, sometimes even the honest hatred of men and women who didn’t know they were going to appear in a movie of international reach. Brüno- well, Brüno actually DID stupid things and earned rather… expected reactions. Nothing out of the ordinary. Say, for instance, that Ron Paul scene. What was so great about that? The dude felt uncomfortable getting hit on by a guy who is weird enough, even for an over-the-top gay Austrian man, what was he supposed to do when Brüno pulled down his pants to prepare Paul for a private sex tape? Should he have shaken his hand and thank him for the attention? He was furious, sure, he left rather abruptly and called Brüno a queer.

Big deal.

In fact, I was surprised Paul didn’t pull out a shotgun. That’s what I would’ve done. And Paul, he’s not even the center of attention! If anything, Ron Paul is a decent politician. Not my point of view (not even my country), but decent enough anyway.

Brüno felt like Scary Movie part 2 to infinity. It was more ridiculous than it’s precedor, it was maybe funnier, crasser, grosser, it was so much more of everything- except better. It wasn’t even close to Borat. It made me feel uncomfortable because there was, in fact, not much to criticize. While Borat knew how to pull out the racist of the people he ran into during the movie, Brüno was so annoying, he basically forced homophobia upon everyone who surrounded him (with a few exceptions; but I don’t think that Arkansas Rednecks are in any way representative of the US population in general).

Despite having failed its intentions in my eyes, I am still in absolute awe when it comes down to Cohens talent. Had I met Brüno for myself, I would have not known this was the same guy that did Borat two years ago. Seriously. Cohen is a genius, and I have never seen an actor – or rather, artist – so dedicated to a role. And I do recommend watching the movie, if not for the underlying criticism, at least for the good dose of apocalyptic embarrasement you get to share with everyone else in the theatre.

The Big Bang Theory

I’ve been waiting for this like nothing else, and I’m more or less surprised of my own emotional surrender referring to what I’m going to say:

This is the best show I’ve ever watched.

See, there, there it is! I’ve said it. I know I’ve said it many times about Scrubs, and before that, about Friends; but now I can finally succumb to something that actually exists and is not just a fantasy my mind made up to compensate the loss of these great shows.

The Big Bang Theory, in a nutshell, is an awesome comedy series about nerds. You might think there’s something else to it, but no. That’s it. It’s nerds at their best. Physics nerds, actually (at least 2/4th of the cast are physicist. My mind cannot even grasp as much as half of the subjects they cover, and it is still so funny.

I have nothing more to say, so go and watch. I said so.