Let the lawsuits begin! I hope you’ve got your paperwork in order; going after Borat usurper Brüno may prove to be challenging, seeing as he’s not a 19-year-old gay Austrian fashion reporter, but a mere Hollywood heavyweight with a seemingly infinite supply of financial resources and gay jokes. Brüno is far and beyond more outrageous than Baron Cohen’s preceding film, tackling important issues such as the aborting of Jamie-Lynn Spears’ child and why it’s a great idea, the trading of African American children for special edition iPods and why it’s not such a great idea, and the diplomatic delivery of insults regarding a would-be terrorist’s “King Osama” – perhaps the best idea?

Take Borat’s most controversial moments, inject them with steroids, remove the surrounding moments of filler, and replace the simple Kazakh with a homosexual Austrian. Clearly the concept of Brüno isn’t altogether dissimilar from that of Borat – give the audience something new to laugh at. First the character is created (accomplished years ago in this case), followed by a set of motives (guaranteed to produce a variety of awkward situations), and then it’s filmed. There’s no need to set the stage because the world is Baron Cohen’s stage. It’s all a setup, but what’s important to keep in mind is that usually Baron Cohen is the only person on film privy to that information. And yet as easily as the film can be broken down and observed on a nuts and bolts level, it takes the wielding of unholy acting talent and an enormous set of testicles to conquer audiences’ expectations. Luckily, Baron Cohen has ‘em in spades, and Brüno displays plenty of both.

Whereas Borat sought to “make benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan”, Brüno’s less-ambiguous plot follows the gay Austrian fashion reporter on his mission to become world famous. Brüno pursues the goal seriously (i.e. hilariously), boldly attempting to unite conflicting religious groups, cage fighting and love-making under the alias “Straight Dave”, pitching his own dick-induced talk show to a network focus group, and unabashedly putting the moves on Ron Paul for the sake of creating a sex tape with the former presidential candidate, as opposed to the intended drag queen, RuPaul.

I can’t remember the last time I laughed harder in a movie theater, nor can I ever recall seeing the things I did in another R-rated film. Brüno somehow teeters on the line between R and XXX. A real-world swinger’s party and the sexual acts taking place therein exemplify the thought, “I can’t believe that made it past the MPAA.” That’s not to mention a nearly nude Brüno, attached to his assistant’s assistant via intricate bondage contraption, attempting to board a bus in the far from modest attire. In the latter scenario, the police were quickly called to action, forwarding the story to Brüno’s ultimate realization: Big name Hollywood stars are all straight! Cue the scenes with Christian gay converters advising Brüno to undertake a more heterosexual lifestyle, and comedy gold has been crafted out of slightly humorous coal. Don’t let the spoilers deter you; Brüno has to be seen to be believed.