Oh no, Michael Jackson died!
Meanwhile, Sacha Baron Cohen, as Bruno, appeared on the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien last night to promote his upcoming movie, Bruno. While the debate about the movie's moral responsibility continues to RAGE on*, I still think that the movie looks really funny regardless of whether it falls on the right or the wrong side of morality. Or something. But what I have not been finding funny is the Bruno press junket. His photo shoots across Europe with furry bull costumes and felt penises were funny, but any time he has to actually have the characterinteract with other human beings it just falls flat for me. It seems canned and forced and unfunny. And my opinion is what matters!
When Sacha Baron Cohen was doing the Borat press junket I thought his ability to remain in character was impressive, and his interviews were hilarious. He was brilliant. So what happened? Watching the interview with Conan, I think I finally figured out what the problem is.
As Borat, Cohen could just goof around in character and say outrageous/stupid things and that was enough to get a laugh. I'm not saying it was a cheap laugh, I'm just saying that the laughs came easily. But he can't quite do that with Bruno. He's smart enough to realize that if he just prances around in gayface all night, it's not going to be that funny, and it's actually going to be kind of gross. So he tries to draw the interviewer in and make the interviewer part of it. So, for example, in the first 30 seconds of his interview with Conan he tells Conan to stop staring at his crotch. But of course, Conan isn't staring at his crotch, and Conan isn't a homophobic redneck sitting around a campfire playing patsy to Bruno's Sex and the City jokes. As Borat, the line between foreigner and American is really easily drawn, and it's mostly comfortable. But here, the line between outrageous homosexual and...whatever the opposite of outrageous homosexual is supposed to be isn't clearly drawn and sometimes isn't even there. So Cohen forces it to be there. And it's weird!
Or something. See for yourself:
Part One:
Part Two:
Of course, I was going to see this movie anyway, and the whole point of this interview is to convince people who were not going to see the movie to go see the movie (Welcome to What Interviews Are Often For School, class is in session!) so hopefully it does that, or something. Success!
*Mike White, who is pretty great, said that an early cut of the film made him feel like he was "going to throw up the whole time." Wow! That is the version I want to see!
