I’ve become something of a movie buff over the last year. Quite a few weekends have been spent in some theatre or the other, digesting fare that has been recommended as “Fresh” by Rotten Tomatoes. The latest flick, Bruno, had somewhat of a bitter aftertaste. I’m not certain of its rank on the gay-emancipation index but I don’t think it transcends barriers. Yeah yeah, it’s been said to reveal the homophobia in the southern part of the States and has even been lauded for its satire. Excuse me for begging to differ but I don’t consider scenes that hinge on rotating private parts all that cerebral. Sure, I laughed in a couple of spots but cringed in many others.
There has to be a smarter way of exposing hatred towards gays in certain sections of society. You analyse the arguments of the opposing side for traces of hypocrisy or blatant stupidity. The holes in their theses can definitely be presented with an elegantly humorous twist. The movie does have a couple of serious segments to this end but you just don’t do it in ways that are guaranteed to raise passions simply because of the level of public indecency involved: a) trying to get laid with Ron Paul (yes, Ron Paul); b) performing an extremely graphic representation of a BJ in front of a psychic; c) full-blown sex on a wrestling stage in front of a patently violent audience. The most obvious fact is that homosexuals do not live their lives in the manner depicted. I’m probably going out on a limb here but not all of them are as licentious and flamboyant as Bruno makes himself out to be. If I’m walking on the road and see excessive public displays of affection, I will be disgusted without regard to the proclivities of the parties involved in the act.
It is possible that I’m too dense to grasp the subtle points of the film; that I was so shocked by the arse-in-your-face stunts that the fine print simply whizzed by unnoticed. Is that what one would like while trying to tackle important social issues? Blind the lay audience with gross absurdities designed to elicit extreme reactions? This is one brand of humour that I just don’t support.
