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| gromit |
 Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 3:24 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9015
Location: Shanghai
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What I think goes under-appreciated is how good Cohen is at creating these outlandish characters that still come off as believable. SBC is really a gifted physical comedian. YouTube has been blocked here for a few months, but there's a great TV skit of Borat doing wine tasting at some old exclusive Southern club. Just watch the many ways in which Cohen messes up holding the wine glass properly, it's genius (not to mention wicked asides like asking the old good old boy if the black servant is his slave).
Along with the characters themselves, the situations he creates are clever and creative.
The results are sometimes less than the inspiration that goes into them. The wacky fashion sense in his comedy should also be appreciated. Think of the Borat speedo with shoulder straps. And apparently at the opening of Bruno, they had a tank covered in mirrors like a disco ball.
I liked Borat but was somewhat disappointed at its sketchiness and lack of cohesion. But I'm definitely up for seeing Bruno (pun intended). I think I've only seen maybe one or two Bruno clips, so I'm only vaguely familiar with the character. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 4:14 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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gromit wrote: What I think goes under-appreciated is how good Cohen is at creating these outlandish characters that still come off as believable.
I don't think they come off as remotely believable. I think what tricks people in the moment is that he's so aggressive they don't have time to consider what a cartoon he is. That every character is a foreigner and is generally put into contact with people who don't regularly encounter foreigners helps him, too. Still, I'm surprised more people don't catch on, and sometimes wonder if there's reams of footage in which they do that has to be excised to make SBC look good. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:01 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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Marc wrote: I can't believe I'm saying this, because I like Sacha Baron Cohen, but I have no desire to see "Bruno". I feel like I've already seen it. I get the joke
I completely agree. I liked Borat (without remotely loving it), but I've seen the trailer for Bruno and it turns me off. Yes, yes, yes, I know a lot of people are homophobic, what else is new? When faced with a screaming queen like Bruno, I get borderline homophobic myself. IOW, the premise is old-hat and the character is hard to take. Why should I spend money on it? Of course, I'll catch bits and pieces of it on cable or rent the DVD. But spend cash and time in a theater? No way.
Btw, I think Cohen (or is it Baron Cohen a la Bonham Carter?--you can never tell with these Brits) is some kind of a genius, and that gets undersold by people like Joe. It ain't easy doing what he does. |
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| McBain |
| Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:19 am |
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Joined: 26 May 2004
Posts: 1987
Location: Boston
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| I laughed hysterically at Borat. I also laughed at Bruno quite a lot. He's brilliant performer. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:26 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| McBain--Did you see my IM comment in Couch? |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:27 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9015
Location: Shanghai
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billyweeds" und "Marc wrote: I can't believe I'm saying this, because I like Sacha Baron Cohen, but I have no desire to see "Bruno". I feel like I've already seen it. I get the joke
I'm more interested in the performance, and secondarily the response it engenders (pun probably intended). And I think some of the setups are inspired.
(Did you ever see the Borat clip where he gets a bar of redneck Texans to sing along to Throw the Jew in the Well?)
Looking forward to Bruno. |
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Killing your enemies, if it's done badly, increases their number. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 6:29 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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billyweeds wrote: When faced with a screaming queen like Bruno, I get borderline homophobic myself.
This I do not remotely understand. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 6:50 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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Joe Vitus wrote: billyweeds wrote: When faced with a screaming queen like Bruno, I get borderline homophobic myself.
This I do not remotely understand.
Oh, come on. It's not that opaque. Flamboyant queeniness can be hard to take. That's all I mean. If you don't agree, so be it. But I find campy gay people to be an acquired taste that I haven't quite acquired as yet. |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 7:06 am |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
Posts: 2621
Location: Houston
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| Baron Cohen is not without talent. But I found Borat a mostly depressing movie and have no desire to repeat the experience by watching him do the same routine with Bruno. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 7:44 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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billyweeds wrote: Joe Vitus wrote: billyweeds wrote: When faced with a screaming queen like Bruno, I get borderline homophobic myself.
This I do not remotely understand.
Oh, come on. It's not that opaque. Flamboyant queeniness can be hard to take. That's all I mean. If you don't agree, so be it. But I find campy gay people to be an acquired taste that I haven't quite acquired as yet.
Why can it be hard to take? I really don't understand that. What's off-putting? If a queen is arrogant or elitist, I can understand that being off-putting in just the same way anyone who is arrogant or elitist is, be he tough jock, pompous professor, or what have you. But why effeminacy or high theatricality would be innately hard to take, I don't follow at all. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 8:29 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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| Joe--I think we're on basically the same page here, but the way I define "flamboyant" includes "arrogant." The character of Bruno is definitely arrogant, and that's what I'm talking about. I'm not referring to effeminacy. That's no big deal at all. It's the kind of flamboyance that demands the center of attention at all times and announces itself as "different." That's what I mean by flamboyant. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 8:51 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| And that, as Robert Frost remarked, has made all the difference. Yes, I can understand what you're saying. I find the Bruno character appealing as a parody of the arrogant elitist fashionista personality. But since I can't stand that kind person in real life, I can understand why an impersonation would irrate you as well. |
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| whiskeypriest |
| Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 9:33 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 6916
Location: "It's a Dry Heat."
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| I thought Borat was about the funniest thing I have ever seen in a movie theater - even especially those parts that made me rather uneasy. I recall literally pounding my fist on the seat in front of me (fortunately unoccupied). But I have never really had any desire to see it a second time, and no desire to see Bruno, which I take to be roughly the equivalent. It was an unrepeatable event, like castration. |
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| Marc |
| Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 12:45 pm |
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Joined: 19 May 2004
Posts: 8424
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Quote: When faced with a screaming queen like Bruno, I get borderline homophobic myself.
Obnoxious is obnoxious, whether it be gay, straight, transgendered or none of the above. I don't find Bruno in the least bit charismatic or funny. He's too extreme to be believable. I've known flaming queens before, but none as charmless and stupid as Bruno. The concept doesn't hold up for me because it is too divorced from reality. |
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| McBain |
| Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 1:51 pm |
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Joined: 26 May 2004
Posts: 1987
Location: Boston
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billyweeds wrote: McBain--Did you see my IM comment in Couch?
Billy, I was just teasing you a little bit about the IM thing. Don't take it personally. I realize not everyone is spending their whole lives in front of a computer like me. My Dad likes to remind me, "You do this for a living". |
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A life, Jimmy. You know what that is? It's the shit that happens while you're waiting for moments that never come. |
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