Brüno (2009)

Sacha Baron Cohen is easily one of the bravest performers in entertainment. He creates these incredibly convincing characters, says outrageously offensive things to large groups of people, and does it all without even so much of a wink to let the others on. Much like Borat before it, this outing sees Cohen speaking to senators, celebrities and random passerby, prodding then with wildly inappropriate questions and situations, and smartly skewering them to their face. It's cringeworthy stuff, but still remains impressively daring given the reactions he gets, and the people he talks to. The problems with this film, however, have a lot to do with the success of Borat, the most basic of which is that the character of Bruno is not nearly as likeable or endearing. Where Borat was naïve and shy, Bruno is arrogant and outlandish. At the same time it seems that more people were in on the joke this time, leading to more segments feeling either staged or at the very least insincere. The greater emphasis on trying to tell a story doesn't help things either. There are still specks of brilliance scattered throughout, but on the whole this just doesn't have the same caustic chemistry that the first had. Taken in full it's still funny, but not hilarious.

6 out of 10.