the buzz log

There's real. Then there's reality. And there's the satiric movie "Bruno," which seems to be in a class by itself. Sacha Baron Cohen ("Borat") is back. This time, he's come to America as the character Bruno, the flamboyantly gay Austrian model, who places himself in situations that seem, frankly, death defying. (Making passes at hunters with real guns? Telling a black talk-show audience his adopted baby has a traditional African name of O.J.?) All in the name of pointed, provacative entertainment.

The cringe-inducing gotchya-mentary practically guarantees that we will be laughing at the clueless victims set up in the scenes. Think of it as "Candid Camera" on steroids. But how real is the reality?

Newsweek reported that some people from a southern town featured in the flick are complaining bitterly at their portrayal. Turns out that although the action of a cage-match scene was unscripted, the ugly behavior of the crowd was heavily encouraged with cheap entry, unlimited $1 beers, and T-shirt giveaways emblazoned with homophobic phrases.

Maybe it's not really surprising that the comedian stirred up such strong emotions. As the critic David Edelstein put it, Cohen "parades himself before people who are not accustomed to someone so out there, which is to say most people."

One thing seems sure. The real man behind the fake Bruno is set on starting a fight. Even if he has to stage it himself.