Critics: “Brüno” Indulges Bigotry
“Bruno” has hit the theatres. Undoubtedly it will have a big weekend at the box office. My spies tell me it has two or three big laughs, but mostly leaves a sour taste. Why? For explanations turn to these two reviewers (A. O. Scott in the New York Times; Anthony Lane in The New Yorker), who at least partially credit the notion that “Bruno” is a gay minstrel show. Money quote from Lane: “I’m afraid that ‘Bruno’ feels hopelessly complicit in the prejudices that it presumes to deride.” I’m beginning to suspect that Bruno is orchestrating the critics’ war that is raging over his movie: it puts kugelsacks on cinema seats.
