In all his glory.
"Vassup! Ich bin Brüno, eine gay Österreicher fashion host. Die Europäer kicked me outta die business, so I need to go to America to become über-famous."
Brüno is a 2009 mockumentary film from Sacha Baron Cohen, and the third based upon one of his characters from Da Ali G Show (after Ali G Indahouse and Borat). Brüno, a fabulously gay Austrian fashion reporter and TV host, is fired from his show Funkyzeit after ruining a fashion show. To add insult to injury, his lover leaves him for another man. He decides to go to America (with his assistant Lutz) to become the "biggest Austrian superstar since Hitler".
Check out ze Größe von meiner Packung!
Not to be confused with that other Bruno we don't talk about.
Dieser Film umfasst examples of:
- Adaptation Expansion: Like Borat, Bruno originated in Da Ali G Show.
- Alle Deutsche Sind Nazis: Bruno addressing a military officer and Mel Gibson as "Mein Führer", giving a Heil Hitler salute during basic training, referring to himself and Hitler as Austria's greatest men, and calling Brad Pitt "Bradolf Pittler".
- Attention Whore: Bruno. The entire plot of the film is him trying to become famous in spite of his lack of talent.
- Alpha Bitch: Brittny Gastineau.
- Asshole Victim: The various homophobes, sexists and such who Baron Cohen trolls in the film.
- Bad "Bad Acting": Spoofed during Bruno's meeting with a talent agent near the beginning.
- Bait-and-Switch: The unsuspecting audience at "Straight Dave's Man-Slamming Maxout" doesn't quite get the type of "man-slamming action" they were expecting.
- Beleaguered Assistant: Lutz.
- Bilingual Bonus: Whatever the terrorist leader said before the interpreter told Bruno to get out. (Note: The guy actually sued Baron Cohen and lost because the CIA considers his group a terrorist organization.)
- Body Sushi: Bruno holds a nantaimori performance with a Mexican man, which disgusts Paula Abdul.
- Butt-Monkey: Lutz.
- Camp Gay: None are more camp than Bruno.
- Charity Motivation Song: Bruno puts one together at the end. It's more about how great he is than any particular cause.
- Concert Kiss / The Big Damn Kiss: The climax at the cage fight is a play on this. Sacha Baron Cohen was apparently inspired by romantic comedies that end at sporting events where the couple kisses and the audience cheers, only here of course, the audience starts a riot.
- Cure Your Gays: Bruno attempts conversion therapy, thinking he needs to be straight to be famous. He just ends up becoming an over the top stereotype of a straight dude who is very much still attracted to men.
- Depraved Homosexual / All Gays are Promiscuous: Bruno's character is extremely flirtatious and kinky in bed, and sexually harasses pretty much every guy he meets. Though interestingly he mentions he's only ever actually had sex with three people.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Lutz is a rare gay example.
- The Ditz: Bruno is pretty ditzy. But even he is no match for the charity PR girls.
- Disposable Fiancé: Diesel.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Bruno goes to Village Inn and "commits carbicide" after losing OJ.
- Entitled Bastard: Lutz is heartbroken that Bruno won't accept him as his lover and decides to leave him as a result, despite the fact that Lutz not only tried blackmailing Bruno into becoming his lover, but prior to that he also got Bruno drunk and had him chained up in bondage gear. Bruno may be an insufferable narcissist and attention whore, but there's hardly any normal person who would blame Bruno for rejecting Lutz after doing that to him.
- Epic Fail: Bruno's focus group pitch for a new TV show, which involves lots of crappy, suggestive dancing, an offensive exchange regarding Jamie Lynn Spears' baby, a two-second "interview" with Harrison Ford, and a talking penis. The focus group reaction? "It was worse than cancer!"
- Exact Words: Bruno does have an "interview" with Harrison Ford at the end of his video. Unfortunately, the video is full of Filler (including
a talking penis) and Ford's entire "interview" is a Precision F-Strike. - Europeans Are Kinky: Any sexual interaction Bruno has typically involves either elaborate mechanisms or excessive anal play.
- Fan Disservice: The talking penis in the focus group scene. The dominatrix with the fake boobs and spray-on tan also counts.
- Der Fundamentalist: The gay converter and the Westboro Baptist Church. Made all the more terrifying because it's real.
- Der Fashionista: Bruno himself, obviously.
- Fearless Infant: OJ is completely content throughout the entire film. Even while traveling via cardboard box or on the handlebars of a moped.
- Gratuitous German: The most shining moment being when Bruno namedrops several prominent celebrities, such as Wilhelm Schmidt and Bradolf Pitler.
- Gold Makes Everything Shiny: A lot of Bruno's wide array of outfits include shiny gold and silver items and/or accessories.
- Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: The whole premise of Bruno's "Straight Dave" alias at the end.
- Have I Mentioned I Am Gay?: The trailer has a scene like this and seems to imply the trope will be present, but the film has no such scene and Bruno doesn't really bring up his sexuality unless there's a reason to. As a result, many people remain friendly with him despite how over the top he is until he mentions it.
- Heävy Mëtal Ümlaut: Even the U on the Universal logo in the trailers got hit with it.
- Heteronormative Crusader: The gay converters, "Straight Dave" and his fans, the westboro baptist church...
- Happily Ever After/Babies Ever After: The movie ends with Bruno and Lutz becoming a couple and getting their baby, little OJ, back.
- Improbable Age: Bruno claims to be both 19 in 2009 and a former lover of Rob Pilatus, who died in the 90s.
- It's All About Me: Bruno is an extreme narcissist who goes to absurd lengths to become famous, including exploiting children and sexually harassing Ron Paul.
- Male Frontal Nudity: Bruno's pilot is padded out with a lengthy sequence with his penis swinging around before shouting "BRUNO!" and zooming towards the camera.
- Morality Pet: OJ
- Middle Eastern Terrorists: Bruno hopes to be kidnapped by one thinking it will make him famous. They'd rather let him go than have to deal with him for an indefinite period of time.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Lutz gives one to Straight Dave (aka Bruno) in the cage match before they reconcile, much to the homophobic audience's horror and disgust.
- Padding: Invoked during the Harrison Ford video. There's a huge amount of irrelevant crap (including a talking penis), which builds up to an "interview" with the man himself which consists of Ford telling Bruno to fuck off.
- Poe's Law: Parts of the film were staged or deliberately misrepresented. For example, the talk show scene features a real audience, but the show itself was set up for the film.
- Precision F-Strike: Harrison Ford's cameo.
- The Prima Donna: Bruno
- Refuge in Audacity: Most of the film, notably the scene where Bruno and Lutz are handcuffed together and ask the hotel staff to help them.
- Second Act Break Up
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: Bruno and Lutz at the end during the cage match.
- Stage Mom: Bruno interviews a group of them for his photo shoot. All of whom are willing to endanger the lives of their children for the chance at fame. Bruno himself can also be considered this.
- Stalker with a Crush: Lutz has some shades of this.Bruno: Am I going to wake up to find you masturbating over me?Lutz: I promise not to wake you.
- Sassy Black Woman: There are a few in the audience during the Richard Bey talk show scene.
- Take That!: Brüno literally calls Mel Gibson Hitler at one point (well, okay, he calls him "Der Führer," but the implication is quite clear).
- Diese Verrückten Nazis: Bruno desires to be the biggest Austrian superstar since Adolf Hitler.
- Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: This is a significant part of the reason the film was not as well-received as Borat or anything involving Ali G, and was specifically mentioned in The Irish Times's review of the film.
- Though Larry Charles has stated multiple times that Bruno isn't written as any worse a person than Borat, but that the film itself comes off harsher, giving this impression.
Larry Charles: There's so much more heat on Bruno than Borat. And it's not because Bruno is a meaner character, it's because people are meaner to Bruno. It shows a darker side of the American psyche. - Unlimited Wardrobe: Bruno carries several coat-racks worth of designer outfits on his trip to America, which become unwieldy when he's left homeless.
- Villainous Breakdown: The reaction of the cage match audience to Bruno and Lutz's Slap-Slap-Kiss moment.
- Younger Than They Look: Bruno says he's only 19 years old, though it wouldn't be out of character for him to lie about his age for vanity.
