Before we had Bruno, there was Richard!

Bless his heart, which is in the right place, but really...
I maybe sticking my neck out here and be accused of internalized homophobia, but I just find him embarrassing.

It might have been OK back in the 70's when Charles Nelson Reilly and Paul Lynde were the gay clowns that were safe to laugh at. But just as we have evolved beyond minstrels, I think that his shtick is way old.

Simmons' life-long mission of promoting health and a bill mandating non-competitive physical education in public schools ( Wikipedia) is very admirable and hopefully will bear fruit (sorry). But is his persona helping or hindering his cause?

As I have stated before, I am conflicted about the upcoming Bruno. I've read that this movie is an attack on hypocrites and homophobes (Queerty):



"Yes, he plays a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion reporter, but heterosexual Sacha Baron Cohen's character Bruno is, for all intents and purposes, a comedic exercise in exploring gay stereotypes and going on a witch hunt for homophobes — both concepts that, on their face, we're perfectly fine with..."


But isn't the character of "Bruno" seeking out homophobes sort of like hunky plainclothes cops asking Georges Michael for a date?

I will have to wait until I see the movie of course, to see if I believe that Bruno achieves its goal of searching out homophobia and exposing self centered, superficial gay "divas". Or if it is just a cheap "shock-a-thon" featuring the outrageous antics of another fabulous gay clown.