Who's In It: Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten
The Basics: Post-Ali G. and post-Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen's insanely gay fashionista Brüno comes along to do the same thing that Ali G and Borat did: make people who are unfriendly to gays extremely uncomfortable and even more unfriendly than they might be under normal circumstances. Yes, it's cruelly funny. No, it's not bad for the gays, since anyone with 1/3 of a functioning brain knows that this character is a prancing minstrel-show penis-clown. But it's also not nearly as smart or satirical as it thinks it is.
What's The Deal: Obvious targets, fewer unplanned antics, unexpected empathy for people who take exception to a naked man touching them without their permission, even more unexpected disappointment at the obvious inclusion of actors in roles that would have previously been filled by unwitting non-pro victims, and an overall diminished shock factor, even over the use of full-frontal male nudity (now that Jason Segel's beaten everyone to the punch). But even with all those deep, case-crumpling flaws, it's still cheaply hilarious and the only film you'll see all year with a talking urethra.
Least Interesting Stuff: When Brüno goes to see two religious ex-gay therapists and then tangles with the Westboro Baptist "God Hates Fags" lunatics. Everyone's had a go at these people, including Bill Maher in his documentary Religulous, so watching Sacha Baron Cohen take his turn just feels like one more comedian taking his swipe. Meanwhile, the real question for the ex-gay folks is when will they wise up and stop falling for it?
Most Funcomfortable Moment: A campfire scene where Brüno tells his extremely freaked-out hunting companions that the night stars remind him of "all the hot guys in the world." The cameras keep rolling and the silence remains unbroken for what seems like an hour.
What Paula Abdul Will Claim: That she was in on it the whole time.