This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The first must-see film of the year.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

As with all of Shirley MacLaine's films the message was well worth the two hours of my life. I recommend it highly.Not one stereotype is left unchallenged and done so subtly one has to stop and really think. Had a really difficult time watching the brutality Bruno and Angela (Stacey Halprin) had to endure from most everyone else in the film, all because they wanted/needed/were seeking to be themselves. What a society of drones we live in. "And it will take a child to lead them..." ..and a black child for that matter. Great movie, may be difficult for sensitive folks but well worth it. Had to watch it in three time periods just to let the distress at the violence subside.

Brainy, cross-dressing little boy finds success on the Spelling Bee circuit despite an unconventional and dysfunctional upbringing. Shirley MacLaine directed and stars as the child's grandmother, and it is always fascinating to see long-time actors getting their chance at directing a film, the material that they're drawn to and the actors they choose to work with. Here, the only person well-cast in "Bruno" is MacLaine. The child actors seem to have been picked for their twinkle and cuteness, and squishy-hearted MacLaine holds their close-ups for excruciatingly long periods; nothing about these cherubs seems natural, not the lines that fall without consciousness out of their mouths or the interaction they have with adults or even each other. As the boy's disgruntled father, poor Gary Sinise hovers around the edges, in mock shame, always with a pained look on his face. Towards the end of the film, MacLaine turns the whole thing into a passel of hugging scenes, and even concludes with the kid hugging the Pope in Rome! Another ungodly treatise from a talented actress-turned-director who, much like Sally Field and her film "Beautiful", cannot seem to stop winking at and nudging the audience. Shirley uses ethnicity for shtick, and childhood innocence as a punchline. The children in this cast roll their eyes, crack wise with mature comments, use big words--but when one mealy-mouthed boy calls our pint-sized hero "gay", MacLaine's granny instructs him to go over and punch the kid out (in front the media!). How's that for progression? * from ****

First the premise stinks...little boy likes to dress in girls clothes. It reminded me of Norman Bates in PSYCHO or Ed Wood in ED WOOD. The jokes are lame and old, You've seen 'em in a dozen 50's & 60's films. The whole cast is wasted. I bet people signed on just to be in a Shirley MacLaine vehicle. Please, Would somebody tell Shirley she did her best comedy in TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA. See it...if there's no reruns of Andy Griffith on.

What started out, at least for the first two-thirds of the movie, as a very fantastical-enigmatic-true-to-life-at-the-same-time movie about a little boy who just likes to wear women's clothing have to turn into a Shirley comeback vehicle? Never mind that she was driving the car - it was fine when the back seat drivers were guiding her way. As soon as she takes over and dominates the entire movie do we all feel like getting out of this vehicle. The first two-thirds of the movie are fine - you feel for everyone involved, even Shirley. But when it appears that the script went south and Shirley came north, all hell breaks loose. Still, watch it for the great performances by all involved (yah, even Shirley in her crusty matriarch role she seems to ease into so conveniently) and let it make you wonder what could have been.