Joy Behar likes him. Barbara Walters, not so much. The Ukraine has banned him. And GLAAD thinks he’s downright mean.
I’m talking of course about Bruno (in all his glory below), the Austrian gay stereotype gone stark raving mad, concocted by the very talented Sacha Baron Cohen (of Borat fame). Bruno hit theaters with a splash on July 10, raking in $14 million Friday before business actually started dropping off over the weekend (some are blaming bad buzz on Twitter). Since then, the film has been dropping off fast, which is no surprise considering some of the reviews.
In a statement, GLAAD says parts of the film “reinforce some damaging, hurtful stereotypes” and “decreases the public's comfort with gay people."
Newsweek called it “the most depressing movie of the year” before concluding, “A generation of straight teen guys will hit the summer multiplex to hoot at Brüno, and they'll probably think of the lecherous sexual predator the next time they meet a gay person.”
Walters said this on The View: “I think if you're not homophobic, it could make you. I don't need to know how you are doing anal intercourse."
Behar countered: "I was howling ... It's so audacious and so funny.”
Admittedly, I was hoping Bruno would successfully make homophobes look as foolish as Borat did his unwitting cast of racists, but after reading all this I opted for a more benign option, The Proposal, instead (embarrassing, I know). I WILL go see it soon, and will chime back in then.
In the meantime, what do you think? Is Bruno taking gay rights a giant giant step backwards, or should everyone lighten the hell up and just laugh? Click on the 'comments' tab below to chime in...
-- Mitch Rustad
