2012
15
Directed by Larry Charles
Written by Sacha Baron Cohen, Alec Berg, David Mandel and Jeff Schaffer
Starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Admiral General Aladeen / Efawadh
Ben Kingsley as Tamir
Jason Mantzoukas as Nadal
and Anna Faris as Zoey
When Borat: Cultural Learning of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan was released, Sacha Baron Cohen became, seemingly overnight, a comedy genius. Well known in Britain for years beforehand for flogging a dead horse with his Ali G character, long after the single joke had worn thin (but not before a cheapo comedy film was pumped out), he was seen to be a spent force, a has been. His time in the sun was over.
2006 was a huge reversal of fortune, showing that laughing at poor foreigners was something that didn't have to sneer out of a screen at you on Channel 4 on a Friday night, but could actually top the box office in the U.S.A., and make lots of money in the process. Whilst it's a little unfair of me to dismiss Borat in such a way, seeing as it was actually a very accomplished comedy film, in every way, it did leave a question mark as to what Cohen would do next. Surely he wouldn't repeat himself with another mockumentary? Who would fall for that again?
Sadly, that's just what Bruno was, a repeat of his last film, with a bigger budget, and gay jokes instead. It was also a lot less funny, and actually felt a lot more mean spirited. Whilst Borat was criticised for putting across that everyone in America was stupid, Bruno pushed the angle that, not only were they all stupid, but homophobic as well. I wouldn't have minded, if it hadn't been presented in such a sneering manner.
Well, Bruno flopped, and now Baron Cohen, instead of trying to change the formula, and do something that seemed as fresh as Borat did six years ago, has decided to eat himself, with a film that feels like a combination of the grossly ill-advised Ali G:Indahouse, and the 'funny foreigner' elements of Borat.
It's not entirely a failure, to be fair. There are some good jokes to be found, and there is at least one sequence that made me laugh loudly in the theatre. Overall though, it's far too patchy and repititious, and some sequences are just dreadfully unfunny. There is a sequence where a woman gives birth, which may be one of the worst things I have seen this year. It's a great shame, because the intention was clearly to make something like The Great Dictator, but it ends up coming across as a more putrid version of Coming To America.
Overall, it quite clear that Larry Charles and Sacha Baron Cohen really need to go back to the drawing board and find something new to say, because the joke has now been thoroughly worn out.
2.5/5
