Bruno

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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• play on
• stereotype
• practical joke
• flamboyant

• walk the line
• Oscar
• in store for
• hijinks

• in poor taste
• hyped

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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Sacha Baron Cohen’s humor walks the line between hilarious and offensive. In his last movie, Borat, Cohen played a racist, sexist, and homophobic Kazakh journalist. The film drew angry protests from a number of different groups, including the Kazakh government. Yet in spite of all the controversy, the film was nominated for numerous awards including a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar.

Now Cohen is back with a new character who, like Borat, is both hilarious and controversial. Bruno is a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion reporter. In the film, he interviews real people who have no idea what’s in store for them. Find out what Devan and Ella think about Bruno’s crazy hijinks.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Devan

Ella

Devan:  So, I just got back from seeing Bruno.

Ella:  How was it? I am really hyped about that movie.

Devan:  Don’t take your parents with you. But as long as you go with some friends, it was great. I liked it. I thought it was hilarious.

Ella:  So same style like Borat, or how would you describe it?

Devan:  Yeah, it’s similar to Borat, where it plays on stereotypes. And he’s playing a lot of practical jokes on people who aren’t realizing what’s going on. But this time the stereotype is like he’s a super flamboyant, gay TV reporter for a fashion channel. And he just…you know, it just goes from there, from him getting fired from that job and then coming to America, trying to become a movie star.

Ella:  I heard that there’s lots of nudity. Is it in poor taste?

Devan:  That’s all relative. A lot of people would say it’s in poor taste but I personally found it to be really witty and smart humor.

 

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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