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BOTTOM LINE: Isabelle Fuhrman puts in an outstanding performance as the psychotic Esther, but the rest of the film is so perfunctory and lamely directed that there is nothing to really advocate it.

THE GOOD: Watching a fantastic efficiency from a youngster is something to behold and 12-year old Isabelle Fuhrman does an incredible job portraying the disturbed Russian child Esther who is adopted by the somewhat dysfunctional loved ones of Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John Coleman (Peter Sarsgaard). Everything seems to be going well till strange and bizarre accidents commence to occur.

BOTTOM LINE: Despite being a lot more evenly handled as a film, and still rather funny, “Bruno” will not be as successfully funny as “Borat”, plus the way sequences are edited makes the proceedings really feel a lot more staged than what they in fact are.

Before long, Kate suspects that Esther is up to no good, but her very own issues do not let John to believe her, leading to a tragic climax exactly where Esther is revealed to be a thing considerably more sinister and hideous than any of them could have imagined. Scenes involving Esther manipulating each and every of the household members, especially the two children, are involving thanks to Fuhrman’s performance, and she by some means manages to convey a deeply cold malevolence that’s really watchable. “Orphan” relies on its intriguing premise and Fuhrman’s performance to generate scenes of tension and character suspense, and in this respect, the film functions on some levels.

As with “Borat”, Cohen unleashes this offensive stereotype on Americans who do not know any better, and rather usually comes up with hilarious results. For example, Bruno wants to do a fashion shoot for himself with youngsters and his interviews using the mothers must rank as downright embarrassing for those mothers as they basically agree for their babies to complete something he suggests. This God-fearing person is prime fodder for Bruno, as will be the obligatory “make enjoyable of a crowd of red-necks scene” when he manages to turn a staged battle in a boxing ring in to a love-making session with his assistant. This last scene is so funny, particularly using the reactions of the red-necks, that Cohen could have created the complete film about it. As a piece, the film is better constructed and evenly-handled than “Borat”, from the hilarious title sequence to the scripted sequences which link all the improvised sequences together. “Bruno” is a really funny film which manages to push the boundaries of comedy as well as the genre of the mockumentary in general.