I thought I'd HATE Borat cause' I'm not into Ali G, so I passed and waited. Saw it. DIED LAUGHING. Maybe it was my frequent exposure to a lot of Eastern Euro communities where I grew up, so lots of little things that were particularly accurate really made me laugh. Maybe because a guy going around doing stupid stuff to people who are even more stupid is funny to me. Maybe because bears + ice cream trucks= laughs. I dunno, I was sold. I'll see Bruno, I'm a bit afraid of it being a rehash, but not so much after seeing the commercials. Plus even if it is I'll probably laugh still, and that's what it's about. PLOT? Who needs em?! Fat naked guys are all I need (there's a good quote huh?) But I understand your reluctance if you weren't into Borat that much.
Being gay; I am kinda on the fence. But ultimately, it reinforces strong gay stereotypes that community is trying to get away from in order to further gay rights. Rednecks and conservatives seeing Bruno as an accurate representation of gay people will help set gay rights back. On the other hand, I love to see homophobes confronted; its makes for good laughs.
I hate the "gotcha" we fooled you type of forced "comedy." The whole gay stereotype thing coming from a non gay is a bit akward too, imo.
Something about Borat made me feeling horrible afterwards. While watching it, I really enjoyed it, but upon reflection I felt that it was incredibly mean spirited. It's different than Ali G which was more light heartedly taking the piss out of people in the limelight. I have no doubt that I will wet myself in hysterics watching Bruno, but I think I'll pass. Not a fan of the obvious low brow humour, as funny as it may be.
Hmmm... I guess I just see Coen's schtick differently. I thought it was social commentary. You pick a character that exhibits the stereotypical traits that the ignorant and uninformed imagine a group has and watch people be hypocrites. Bruno is not making fun of gays, he can't reinforce stereotypes because he is not gay. The comedy is society being ignorant jackasses, not Coen. He just stays in character and let's everyone else make fools of themselves. The stereotype that I see him reinforce is that of ignorant hypocritical celebrities, and the idiots in the world of high fashion.
^^^ That's kind of how I always saw this character and Borat. Looks mindless and entertaining and I'll be seeing it. Probably will be funnier then half the movies that came out this right.
I totally disagree with the idea you can't reinforce a stereotype without being from said class. And the "character" is the stereotype.
While I can see your point, this type of thing perpetuates those stereotypes IMO. Those same ignorant people who it mocks will still make their ignorant jokes and have them reinforced on the big screen. I think parts of it looks super amusing. him almost getting hit on the scooter with the baby had me rolling on the floor. I'll wait until DVD I think. Can we not use the word "gay" as a reminder of something being dumb? I'm not in high school anymore.
now the "i'm rick james, b*tch" / "very nice" borat impersonators at bars around the country will have new material... they can try to be funny again.
ha. yeah.. that makes me want to punch someone in the face too. anyways, there's a video on the bruno website that's sorta funny http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhfU2bObUZQ on a side note, i want to see bruno and i also find hard gay funny
I agree with you. I think what I'm aiming at, is that he is a neutral party. He is lampooning a stereotype that is ignorant. He is allowing others to project their ignorance on a straw man. I think the stuff is brilliant in exposing these strange prejudices and misconceptions people harbor. But I sympathize with those that aren't into it. It's tough to see cartoon-like portrayals of your life in media, and the frat boy response to really smart comedy is tough. Chapelle show comes to mind when thinking of this.
