Bruno has already gotten a lot of attention for its controversial depictions of homosexuality, and according to Movieline the movie's original ending would have made things much worse for Sacha Baron Cohen and director Larry Charles. The pair has already suffered the ire of the gay community, even though their proclaimed intention is to mock homophobia.
SPOILER ALERT!!! If you wish to see the movie without any prior knowledge, do not read on!
The movie concludes with Bruno making out with his male assistant in an Arkansas cage match, much do the dismay of the onlooking crowd (surprise, surprise). The spectators turn violent and attack the couple, resulting in serious injury. In the upcoming theatrical release, the audience is then shown Bruno and his partner, who happily reunite and decide to adopt a baby. The whole thing ends on an up note with a song supporting gay rights.
This is only part of what was seen, though, when Cohen and Charles screened the movie this past February for industry professionals. Writer-director Richard Day (Arrested Development, Ellen) – one of only two gay men at the screening, along with actor Jack Plotnick (Reno 911!, Drawn Together) – had this to say about the original ending and his subsequent comments to other viewers:
The cage-match kiss resulted in a violent attack on the couple. They then cut to a press event where they are announcing their marriage or plans to, I forget which. But the boyfriend is now drooling, seemingly brain-damaged, and in a wheelchair, played for laughs ... I started in and Jack joined with his thoughts. By the time I got to the bashing, the audience started defending the movie. They were annoyed with us for ruining the party ... I don’t know if we’re why they changed it, but if we are, I regret saying anything. It would have been better to let them expose their true point of view; thanks to us, they had a road map of the most egregious offenses and can also claim to have been responsive to our concerns.
Day also had a chance to read the script when he consulted with Cohen and Charles earlier. His response was that it read as if the authors "didn’t know much about actual gay life."
Posted 07.01.09 by reelz