Sacha Baron Cohen's Brüno could have been "a hilarious cultural corrective," said David Rakoff in Salon, a film shining "the light of truth on the last acceptable bigotry—homophobia." But instead, Cohen's flamboyant Austrian fashionista character "is a gay minstrel," further perpetuating negative stereotypes about homosexuals. "No actual gay guy would ever have made this film. Brüno preaches a false emancipation." (watch the trailer for Brüno)
But "the beauty—and perhaps even the moral logic—of Baron Cohen's method," said Dennis Lim in Slate, "is that those who're not in on his joke are invariably the butts of the joke." And "lost amid the dutiful hand-wringing about the movie's capacity to offend" is the fact that Brüno tackles "some of the most vexing and enduring bugbears surrounding onscreen homosexuality." Cohen has "come up with a brilliant tactic against homophobia—the gay-panic offense."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.