Marketing itself as "Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt," British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen (of Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan fame) is back in the game as Bruno, an outrageously camp Austrian fashion journalist who tries the push the boundaries of the real life personalities he interviews.

Bruno has been heralded to be a satirical attempt to expose the prejudices and bigotries of people he interviews in the US in the hopes of becoming a Hollywood celebrity - or, as he puts it: "I want to be the biggest Austrian superstar since Hitler!"

Gay groups are however concerned that some viewers may instead leave the theatres with their existing stereotypes about gay people reinforced, and their homophobia validated.

"Some people in our community may like this movie, but many are not going to be O.K. with it," Rashad Robinson, senior director of media programs for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), was quoted as saying in The New York Times on Jun 11. "Sacha Baron Cohen’s well-meaning attempt at satire is problematic in many places and outright offensive in others.”

The film shows Bruno crashing Milan Fashion Week and the American military, and dropping his pants during an interview with US presidential candidate Ron Paul. The same Times report revealed that a scene in the movie shows Brüno having sex in a hot tub while a baby sits nearby and later tells a talk-show audience that having a baby is a man magnet. The paper also quoted a source who said that the scene "consists of still images that were photoshopped – no baby was actually present – and that the sex is only strongly implied."

In another scene, Bruno consults with a Karate instructor to learn to protect himself from gay people. "They probably would tackle from behind," the instructor says. "If they get close to you, hit them."

And how can one spot a gay man? The instructor replies: "Obvious is a person being extremely nice… Some of them don’t even dress no different than myself or you."

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) spokesman Brad Luna said: "We strongly feel that Sacha Baron Cohen and Universal Pictures have a responsibility to remind the viewing public right there in the theater that this is intended to expose homophobia."

Gay website Queerty.com quoted HRC as saying: "If the context and intent behind this kind of particular humour is about exposing and making fun of homophobia to show the ridiculousness of it, that is one thing. What is undeniable though is the impact on the audience is going to vary. Although we view the movie for what it is, a satirical portrayal of stereotyping, we shouldn’t lose sight of the seriousness of this issue. The #1 epithet used on schoolyards across the country remains anti-gay slurs.

"In the last few months, we have had to continually witness the heartbreaking suicides of young boys who were taunted and bullied using anti-gay epithets. It continues to remain a serious problem in this country.

"(The producers) have a responsibility to make sure that the viewing public understands this character is done as satire to poke fun at stereotyping. Otherwise, they run the risk of 16 yr old high school boys across the country feeling empowered to bully schoolmates. And tragically we already know what the consequences of that are."

The reports also quoted Aaron Hicklin, the editor of Out, a US gay magazine, who said he is excited that there might be more awareness about the issue and plans to put the star on the August cover.

"The movie does something hugely important, which is showing that people’s attitudes can turn on a dime when they realise you’re gay," Hicklin said.

"The multiplex crowd wouldn’t normally sit down for a two-hour lecture on homophobia, but that’s exactly what’s going to happen. I’m excited about that."

The film had began making the headlines over a year ago when he was believed to have outraged thousands of unsuspecting audience members when he filmed undercover at two cage-fighting events in the US state of Arkansas where two fighters stripped to their underwear before kissing and "rubbing one another."

Following a host of headline hogging stunts since landing his jock-strapped behind on faux-outraged Eminem’s face at the recent MTV Movie Awards and appearing nude on the cover of GQ, he has kept up the momentum with his antics during his recent promotional activities in major European capital cities.

London saw him in an "updated" Buckingham Palace guard-inspired outfit with tight black hotpants and boots; Madrid, as an anatomically-correct bull; Berlin, in a pink bodysuit with prominent “genitalia”; in the red-light district of Amsterdam, in a cut off suit with an exposed a red thong and so on. (See photos at top of page)

Bruno Movie Trailer