The Top Story: Bruno is here!

In expectation of Sacha Baron Cohen's latest ambush comedy film, Brüno, arriving in theaters this weekend, discussion of Cohen's gay fashionista character — and whether the movie is likely to hurt or help gays — has heated up considerably. (Check out our take here.)

We thought now a good time to see what some media had to say about the topic.

Out Magazine

I read Mo Rocca's interview with Brüno for Out before I took a good look at the cover. Turns out the magazine overpromises with its headline asking "Can The Agent Provocateur Dodge The Knives?"

The interview is pretty light, considering that most of the discussion gays are having about Brüno have focused on whether Brüno is cutting satire or a gay minstrel act. Simply giving Cohen a forum to play out gags from the film struck me as a little behind the curve, especially as the cover headline leaves the impression that the article will be a little more substantial.

Salon

Generally, I wasn't looking at how Brüno was reviewed, but I was impressed at how David Rakoff's look at "Why Brüno is bad for the gays" explains how an extreme stereotype like Brüno could have worked to mock not only homophobia, but also heteronormative-minded gays willing to excuse homophobia directed at someone as flamboyant or "annoying" as Brüno.

Gawker

I often have issues with Gawker but they were able to capture a double-standard nicely, thanks to a reader who spotted Brüno's nude GQ cover shelved with a card to cover up Cohen's nudity, right next to an uncovered Esquire featuring a nude Bar Rafaeli on the cover.

Both covers are about equal in terms of skin, but one is deemed acceptable to be seen in public while the other needs to be covered up. If Brüno fails at satirizing homophobia as a movie, his GQ cover succeeded.

Newsweek

Plenty of media outlets are looking at the way Brüno was staged and how fake much of the movie is, but when Newsweek's Sarah Ball took a look at the movie's infamous cage match scene, she kept an eye on the bigger picture.

Before examining how the scene was manipulated, Ball looks at the lives of an openly gay couple living in Fort Smith, Arkansas, where the cage match scene was filmed. She opens the story by discussing the kind of harassment they endure at the hands of their fellow Arkansans.

Looking at their story that way makes it even more infuriating that the movie was supposed to conclude with Brüno's boyfriend being "hilariously" depicted as permanently disabled after fans attending the match were so outraged they attacked the couple.  The point being, these are this gay couple's neighbors and the people who make their lives miserable. Isn't that funny?

"That's Gay"

It turns out Bryan Safi will be tackling Brüno in tonight's infoMania. Safi's media criticism is usually brilliant and this time he looks at the film as yet another case of Hollywood finding homophobia hilarious.