He fails to get work as an actor. He even fails as an extra. So he creates his own show. Undaunted when his impromptu attempt to interview Harrison Ford only elicits two words (I’ll let you guess which two), he decides to fill the remaining time with creative shots of his genitalia. One of the focus group members wonders: “What kind of sick person would create something like that?”
Brüno decides that maybe a better way to become super-famous would be to solve the conflicts in the Middle East. So, again, away he goes. The first sign of trouble is when he checks a map and refers to the region as “Middle Earth.” By the time he’s chased back to the United States, tail between his legs, one is doubtful he could even bring peace between hobbits and elves.
He then notices that all male super-famous worldwide celebrities such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta have one thing in common: they are all straight. (I know. Not what I expected either.) This takes him down his most harrowing path. I’m not sure which made me feel more uncomfortable, or fearful, his entering the military, his going hunting and tent camping with three rednecks, or his strutting about pretending to be the ultimate macho man in front of a crowd of drunk trailer trash.
That we do fear for Brüno and feel for him makes the ending completely satisfying. We want him to find love and happiness. We just want to shake him as he looks for these things in all the wrong places. We breathe a sigh of relief – even as we cringe with one last fear for his life – when we finally see him seek happiness by simply being himself.
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