I'm Gay for BRUNO.

I don't know why so many people are knocking BRUNO. If you like BORAT (or THE ALI G show), it's pretty much the same thing. Although Bruno is certainly gayer, in every way imaginable.

SPOILERS STRUTTING DOWN THE CATWALK BELOW

Bruno manages the odd feat of making incredibly offensive gay jokes (including various odd objects in various assholes) and being incredibly pro-gay at the same time. Much as BORAT exposed peoples' ignorance towards various social issues, BRUNO does the same thing but focusing mainly on homophobia. By being so shocking and in-your-face about gayness, it brings to the forefront most folks' deep-seated discomfort with homosexuality.

Bruno has a number of highly amusing gags and some great jokes. What's weakest about it, like BORAT, is its structure. Fortunately comedy is one of the few genres where structure doesn't matter as much as in other films. If something's funny, audiences are willing to excuse a weak plot. (Musicals and Hong Kong action films are the other two genres where plot can take a backseat). Think about your favorite comedies. Odds are, while there are some amazingly crafted gems in there (GROUNDHOG DAY, TOOTSIE, and IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT being favorites of mine), there are probably some movies that are funny as hell but also sloppy (VACATION and CADDYSHACK for me).

Bruno's excuse for a plot has him going to America to become famous. And doing various things along the way to achieve that goal -- trying to get an American TV series on the air, trying to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adopting a black baby because it's fashionable; and then realizing he'll need to become straight to make it big in Hollywood, visiting a gay conversion ministry, taking self-defense classes, and going hunting, all before staging a big cage-fighting straight-fest in his new guise as "Straight Dave," whose asshole's "just for shitting" (and then breaking down, stripping down, and hilariously making out with his assistant to the utter disgust and discomfort of an arena full of Arkansans).

Because the storyline's more or less the same thing as in BORAT, down to coming to America, trying to make it on American TV, fighting with his assistant/producer, and then reconciling, it feels a little familiar. And it's not like BORAT was the most tightly plotted film to begin with. And because 85% of BRUNO's jokes are all specifically related to homosexuality, the net isn't cast as wide as in BORAT. Where BORAT could make fun of homophobia, anti-Semitism, and a host of other issues, BRUNO mainly settles on throwing outrageous homosexuality at people -- whether it's Ron Paul, an anti-gay minister, or a black TV audience. This has the effect of making the occasional asides -- showing up Brittany Gastineau by getting her to say that Jamie-Lynn Spears should abort her ugly, retarded-looking baby; having a fashion model talk about how hard it is to put one foot in front of the other (plus turning, which is the hardest); or quizzing Israeli and Palestinian activists about why hummus is bad -- seem funnier than some of the particularly goofy, obnoxious gay antics.

However, the showing I went to was jam-packed at 10:00am on a Friday, and the movie had me laughing constantly throughout. And it also made me think about how most people react poorly to homosexuality, whether it's as blatant as Bruno's antics or the more sedate, "normal" behavior of the gay people I know. So I guess it works.