Be grateful I didn't make it about Peter Shaffer.

Here are three potential interpretations of Bruno I’ve been hearing recently (okay, four):

— Bruno is about surprising people into revealing ugly truths about themselves, like Borat
— Bruno is a piece of stunt cinema done for shock value, like Jackass
— Bruno is (alternatively) a shameless revel in queerbashing / a clever indictment of queerbashers

Its episodic structure plays into each of these thematic approaches at times. The visual style, format and pacing are pretty similar to Borat, and it has a lot of similar set pieces and gags. It has a lot of gay jokes of questionable kosherness. All true and welcome. But these all seemed subplots, side themes to me, not really the main thrust of the piece – not what it was about.

My gut impression, which thinking about it more has only confirmed, was that Bruno was a much older sort of comedy, a comedy that followed a self-obsessed symbol of vice through a society that didn’t necessarily deserve better, but which at least offered the comfort and amusement of being hilariously consistent. Bruno immediately reminded me of Moliere — the French writer who brought us such Top 40 hits as The Hypocrite, The Misanthrope and The Imaginary Invalid.

And in thinking about the comedy of Moliere, where it sits in the tradition of comedy, and where Bruno sits among today’s comedy offers us some insight on one of the questions I think needs to be asked a lot more critically of our cultural arbiters:

When we laugh at our vices and failures, why must we insist they be fixed, or even be fixable?

Seriously, what is it with Sacha Baron Cohen, homosexuality, and the state of Alabama?

Exhibit A: Season 1, Episode 6 of Da Ali G show, in which Baron Cohen’s flamboyantly gay character Brüno attends a football game at the University of Alabama. Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Original air date: March 28, 2003.

Exhibit B: The ending of Talladega Nights, in which Baron Cohen’s flamboyantly gay character Jean Girard gets a big kiss from Will Ferrel. Location: Talladega Speedway, Lincoln, Alabama. Theatrical release date: August 4, 2006.

Exhibit C: A large portion of the Bruno feature film, in which Baron Cohen’s flamboyantly gay character Brüno attempts to be cured of his homosexuality by visiting with pastors, training with the army, and learning martial arts. Location: Anniston, Alabama (at least for the army scene). Theatrical release date: July 10, 2009.

Granted, Baron Cohen has made satire hash out of other locations in the Deep South, but Alabama seems to be his go-to place for juxtaposing homosexuality against Middle America.