Sacha Baron Cohen was called vulgar, shocking, brilliant, horrifying and ballsy for his role as Borat. Now, one can only imagine what he will be called for his new persona, Brüno.
Cohen takes on the role of a gay Austrian fashionista who hosts a late night fashion show and whose ultimate goal is to be the biggest Austrian celebrity since Hitler. The costumes look ridiculous (short shorts, see-through shirts, etc.), but Cohen has never been shy when it comes to dressing up in character. (Remember the banana sling swimsuit?)
This film is another one of his guerilla-style films that captures people doing and saying ridiculous things. If you think Borat was crazy and outlandish, just wait for Brüno: Cohen and crew accrued more police encounters on this shoot than on Borat. And because of the infamy that former film brought Brüno‘s writer-producer-star, Cohen had to disguise himself to get past security in some circumstances.
Cohen’s movies may seem hilarious and spontaneous, but there’s careful planning behind the madness. The film was shot the course of 19 non-consecutive weeks during an entire year, with serious discussion into which events to crash, how to escape when necessary and who to interview in the first place.
If Cohen had audience shouting “I like,” “sexy time,” “wawaweewa,” and “high five” with a crazy who-knows-what accent, we can only imagine what the Austrian-gay-late-night-show-host-fashionista will have us saying in a German accent after July 10th.