Brüno (2009)

Flamboyant and gay Austrian Brüno looks for new fame in America.

Director:

Larry Charles

Writers:

Sacha Baron Cohen (screenplay), Anthony Hines (screenplay)

Stars:

Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten, Clifford Bañagale

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sacha Baron Cohen	...	Brüno
Gustaf Hammarsten	...	Lutz
Clifford Bañagale	...	Diesel
Chibundu Orukwowu	...	O.J.
Chigozie Orukwowu	...	O.J.
Josh Meyers	...	Kookus
Toby Holguin	...	Mexican Gardener #1 (as Toby Hoguin)
Robert Huerta	...	Mexican Gardener #2
Gilbert Rosales	...	Mexican Gardener #3
Thomas Rosales Jr.	...	Mexican Gardener #4
Marco Xavier	...	Mexican Gardener #5
Bono	...	Self - 'Dove of Peace'
Chris Martin	...	Self - 'Dove of Peace'
Elton John	...	Self - 'Dove of Peace'
Slash	...	Self - 'Dove of Peace'

Storyline

Brüno is a gay Austrian fashion guru. He has his own fashion based television show, Funkyzeit, the most popular German-language show of its kind outside of Germany. After he disgraces himself in front of his Funkyzeit fan base, he is ruined in German speaking Europe. He decides that in his quest for worldwide fame, he will move to Los Angeles and reinvent himself. Accompanying him to the US is Lutz, his former assistant's assistant. Lutz is the only person left in his circle that still believes in Brüno's greatness. Brüno goes through one reinvention of himself after another, ultimately straying to areas far removed from his own self. Perhaps when Brüno finds an activity that he truly does love, he will also find that über-fame he so desperately desires.

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Plot Keywords:

social satire | mockumentary | fame | austrian | vicarious embarrassment | 

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Taglines:

Borat was so 2006

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Prior to this movie, the Austrian fashion expert Brüno character's trademark on Da Ali G Show (2000) was talking-up heartless fashionistas and making macho men uncomfortable with his blatant homosexuality. These elements are featured in this movie too.

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Goofs

When Brüno takes OJ out of the box at the airport, the subtitle says "That is 13 pounds of black gold." He says "Das ist vierzehn Pfund schwarzes Gold." "Vierzehn" means 14, not 13 ("dreizehn").

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Quotes

Brüno: It's just this bear took my clothes. He took everything apart from these condoms.

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Crazy Credits

The U in the Universal logo is spelled with an umlaut (Ü) like the movie's title.

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Alternate Versions

The movie's original cut was rated 18 by the BBFC for the UK, and released in that form. The movie was then edited down by two minutes to secure a 15 certificate, and re-released two weeks later as "Brüno: Snipped - The 15-Rated Version". Both versions were shown in parallel, with the edited version targeting the more-lucrative teenage audience.

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Connections

References Yes Man (2008)

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Soundtracks

Nessaja
Written by Peter Maffay and Rolf Zuckowski
Performed by Scooter
Courtesy of Kontor Records

User Reviews

Some laughs- A LOT of shock

I remember pretending to go to sleep some nights and then waiting for my parents to go to bed. After the coast was clear I would sneak downstairs and watch HBO. One of my favorite shows, besides 'Real Sex', was 'Da Ali G Show'. I still try and catch it whenever its on now and it still is classic and timeless.

I had no idea how they were going to pull it off but I saw 'Borat' in its opening weekend and I, along with the rest of the audience, laughed from start to finish. Borat was pretty close to perfect and definitely engaging and re-watchable. It was fresh and it was nice to see a movie that did not have a tired, recycled plot.

It is hard to watch 'Bruno' without making comparisons to Bruno's first carnation on 'Da Ali G Show'. I was expecting something along the lines of Borat. I went into this film with the same hopes and expectations of 'Borat' and honestly the magic just was not there.

The beauty of 'Borat' was in the reactions of the people interviewed. People were intolerant, racist and sexist. 'Borat' was a complete study of American ignorance and a great sociological experiment.

There was ample opportunity for Cohen to capture this feeling again. Homophobia is a big issue today and I was really hoping to see some kind of exploration into the subject.

It was there but not in the way I expected. It felt, to me at least, that Bruno was there to simply make everyone around him uncomfortable. This was funny the first time but it got a little stale. It would have been nice to see more in terms of intolerance.

I also expected more in terms of parodying the shallowness and unpractical nature of the fashion industry. There were plenty of opportunities to take stabs at fashion but this was only done in the beginning.

Without giving anything away there is a lot of shock and a great scene with Harrison Ford- but other than that it just seemed kind of under enthusiastic. I expected a lot more.

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English German

Release Date:

10 July 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Brüno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt

Filming Locations:

1880 SW Gage Blvd, Topeka, Kansas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$42,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$30,619,130, 12 July 2009

Gross USA:

$60,054,530

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$138,805,831

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Media Rights Capital (MRC), Everyman Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1