Bruno, the new film by professional button-pusher Sacha Baron Cohen, will be released in theaters this weekend.
The movie, a follow-up to Cohen's hugely successful film Borat, stars the comedian as a gay Austrian fashionista. Much as in his previous film, Cohen blurs fact and fiction by combining staged comedic bits with impromptu pranks on real people -- leaving the movie a blur between fiction and documentary. The film is but the latest in a genre affectionately referred to as "mockumentary."
From Cohen's films to the critically acclaimed movies by director Christopher Guest (Best in Show and A Mighty Wind, to name a couple), the mockumentary genre has given audiences some of the funniest comedies of the past 10 years.
With all of the comedic gold being mined in fake documentaries, though, let us not forget that real documentaries can equally funny. Just because a film is steeped in truth doesn't mean it can't be hilarious.
Here are a couple of films a tad less staged then Bruno that will elicit just as many laughs.
'The King of Kong' (2007)
Directed by Seth Gordon, The King of Kong is a look at two video gamers' obsessive quest to earn the world record for Donkey Kong. Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell couldn't be further apart in their personalities, temperaments and life trajectories. While Billy has enjoyed a sort of geek-god status since earning several gaming records as a youth, Steve has been met with a lifetime of pitfalls and disappointment. The two men's lives come crashing together, though, when they are pitted against the other in an attempt to claim the title of Best Donkey Kong Player.
Much of the film's humor is found in the extremeness of Billy's personality. From his brash confidence to his sometimes slimy methods, Billy is the type of character audiences love to hate. Both fans and non-fans of video games will enjoy the classic "good-versus-evil" setup that director Gordon expertly crafts.
'Confessions of a Super Hero' (2007)
A no-holds-barred look into the lives of four street performers who make their living dressed as superheroes on the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard, Confessions of a Super Hero is like watching a car crash.
The subjects director Matthew Ogens chose to follow are multi-layered, possibly crazy and more addictively watchable then any reality television star. From a former drug addict Superman who claims to be the love child of Sandy Dennis to a borderline psychotic Batman who frequently brags about the trail of dead bodies he left in his wake as a former loan shark enforcer, the "superheroes" in question are more interesting then a dozen Omarosas wrapped in a gaggle of Pucks.
Audiences will alternate between gasps and laughter as they watch Superman give Ghost Rider tips on successful panhandling or Batman get taken down by the police for his aggressive behavior with tourists.
* Robert Saucedo also claims to be the love child of Sandy Dennis. Visit him on the Web at www.robsaucedo.com.
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