Have We Seen the Last of Brüno?
By now you’ve probably seen a handful of trailers promoting the movie Brüno. The film stars British comedian Sasha Baron Cohen as a flamboyant, gay, Austrian, fashion journalist who lures unwitting non-actors, many of whom are celebrities, into embarrassing situations. Through Cohen’s clever and controversial positioning, Brüno preys upon the homophobia of America’s ordinary citizens.
For those who do not know, Brüno dates back to Da Ali G Show, a TV series featuring three outrageous journalists, Ali G, Borat and Brüno, each created and played by Cohen. All three journalists conduct embarrassing and humorous interviews with unsuspecting victims (oftentimes celebrities and high-ranking officials). The show aired six episodes in the U.K. in 2000 and another dozen on HBO from 2003-2004. The main character of Da Ali G Show was Ali G himself, an ignorant, non-black, suburban male who reveled in rap and Jamaican culture. On the show, Ali G managed to land countless interviews with celebrities and other luminaries and each interview degraded into outrage and/or embarrassment. Cohen spun Ali G into the dreadful 2002 film, Ali G Indahouse, which was summarily dismissed by critics and a big disappointment at the box office. Da Ali G Show was also the birthplace of Borat, Cohen’s anti-Semitic, Kazakhstani reporter. Cohen catapulted Borat to great success in the 2006 film, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. The movie was a critical success and brought in over $250 million worldwide. Borat also launched the career of Cohen, who became a hot Hollywood commodity overnight.
So, back to the headline. In late 2007, Cohen permanently “retired” Ali G and Borat, citing the difficulty in playing the characters. (Apparently Cohen stayed in character some 14 hours a day, giving more-than-convincing life to the alter-egos.) Although Cohen has not made a formal announcement, one can assume that Cohen has said auf wiedersehen to Brüno. The only way you can assure yourself of seeing the offensively funny fashionista is to hit the theaters and see the film or perhaps you can rent a DVD of Da Ali G Show and get all three retired Cohen characters for the price of one.
Official Brüno trailer:
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