Why It Ranks
Bruno pushed hidden-camera comedy to its physical limits. Baron Cohen risked his life for laughs — that is either insanity or art, and in his case it is both. The film made $138 million despite being genuinely dangerous to make. The Ron Paul interview is the most uncomfortable five minutes in cinema.
The Film
Bruno is Sacha Baron Cohen's most dangerous film — a comedy about a flamboyant Austrian fashion journalist that pushed the Borat formula into territory so extreme that Baron Cohen was nearly killed multiple times during production. The cage fighting sequence, where Bruno and his lover make out in front of a real Arkansas crowd, resulted in genuine violence from audience members. The film is less consistent than Borat but its highest moments — the Ron Paul interview, the swingers party, the Middle East peace negotiations — are among the most audacious scenes in comedy history.
Fun Facts
Baron Cohen was nearly attacked by the crowd during the cage fighting scene — security had to extract him through a back exit.
Ron Paul's reaction to the interview was so extreme that his team threatened legal action against the production.
The film's opening weekend set a record for an R-rated comedy, earning $44 million before word-of-mouth slowed it.
Baron Cohen trained with MMA fighters for the cage scene in case he needed to defend himself — which he nearly did.
Get Glen's Musings
Occasional thoughts on AI, Claude, investing, and building things. Free. No spam.
Unsubscribe anytime. I respect your inbox more than Congress respects property rights.
Keep Exploring
Top 25 Comedies
See the full ranked list of the funniest films ever made.
Read moreTop 25 Action Movies
The greatest action films ever made, ranked.
Read moreTop 25 Sci-Fi Movies
The greatest science fiction films ever made, ranked.
Read moreTop 25 Sports Movies
Rocky, Hoosiers, Rudy — the greatest sports films ranked.
Read moreConsulting
Salesforce development and technical consulting.
Read moreWins
Track record of wins across investing, building, and creating.
Read more