6928: Bruno—The Gay Review.

From The Chicago Tribune…

No offense, ‘Bruno’ is funny

By Rex W. Huppke

National gay rights groups have said Sacha Baron Cohen’s new movie, “Bruno,” is offensive to gays and reinforces over-the-top stereotypes held by certain straight people.

I know five gay guys who would disagree.

Rather than watch from the sidelines, on opening night I immersed myself in the “Bruno” controversy by rounding up a diverse group of gay men to join me at the movie.

As the credits rolled and the laughter subsided, Rick Garcia, public policy director of the gay rights group Equality Illinois, noted that national groups protesting “Bruno” may need to get a sense of humor. If anyone should be concerned about the movie, he said, it’s straight people. “Is there some kind of heterosexual defamation league?” said Garcia, 48. “Because they’re the ones that looked bad, not the queer people. I think we looked great.”

Using the same guerrilla satire tactics he employed in the blockbuster film “Borat,” Baron Cohen puts his gay Austrian character, Bruno, into a series of wildly awkward situations intended to expose homophobia. It’s effective, but the point of concern for many—and for me—was whether the film was overly offensive in the process.

Along with Garcia, there was Danny Kopelson, 51, communications director for the Center on Halsted, a community center for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Arnie Cuarenta, 42, joined in. He’s general manager of the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus.

I also invited Tim Sniffen, 37, a member of The Second City comedy troupe, and Andy Shaw, 24, a graphic designer.

With the popcorn-fueled focus group together and the movie about to start, I briefly wondered if this was a bad idea.

I’m a straight man who, on a mature day, has the sense of humor of a teenager. The odds of me laughing at something inappropriate were high, and it seemed that an ill-timed guffaw could easily brand me an insensitive goon. That didn’t happen. I laughed in almost perfect sync with my five guests, howling at the “Gayby” shirt Bruno placed on his adopted child and at the preposterous gay sex scene that launched the movie.

“I actually really liked it,” Kopelson said afterward. “I was prepared not to, but I think the controversy was much to do about nothing.”

It was across-the-board agreement—no one was offended by Baron Cohen’s faux gay antics. And part of the reason for that was confidence that few Americans would ever believe “Bruno” truly represents any element of gay life.

“The gay stuff he does in the movie is so extreme, nobody is going to think that’s what gay people really do,” said Sniffen, the comedian. “If people go to this movie looking for evidence of a certain gay lifestyle, then this might pretty well cement it. But if that’s what they’re looking for, they’re lost causes.”

As frivolous as debate over a comedy might seem, “Bruno” does surface at an interesting time for the GLBT community. A string of states have recently legalized same-sex marriages, while debate continues to rage in California over Proposition 8, which banned such marriages.

Many activists believe the country may be nearing a tipping point in favor of gay marriage. Yet opponents remain entrenched, the Obama administration has been reluctant to address the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and acceptance of gays remains tenuous in swaths of the country.

Still, throughout the weekend, straight and gay Americans made “Bruno” the No. 1 movie, doling out millions to watch a straight man act farcically gay. “I think people understand gay people so much better now,” Shaw said. “They can see this and realize how ‘out there’ it is.”

“All the gay stuff isn’t as big a deal,” Cuarenta added. “I think it was more troubling to see the reactions going on around him, and if that’s what people see as offensive, that means we’re making progress.”

Though it’s hard to mine great social significance from a movie that mocks Ron Paul, swingers and G-strings with equal aplomb, my panel concurred that the world is somehow a better place with “Bruno” in it.