Update 3/13/2010: Well, well, well. See that lengthy discourse below? Pretend it’s actually about an UPPABaby Vista. Further investigation suggests that Brüno’s buggy could be a Vista, instead of a Strider. In fact, I’m invalidating my model-type speculation below. As the movie was partially made in the USA, I’m guessing the US-affiliated Vista is the more likely choice than the Australian Steelcraft. Forensic science based solely on photos isn’t all it might be. Now the question is: Why are the Strider and Vista virtually identical? (There will be a post about this eventually.)
Brüno, Sacha Baron Cohen’s alter ego in the movie of the same name, acquires an infant and a pram. Here is one view of the carriage:
And a second one:
Baron Cohen is British; the film was made largely (if not wholly) in the US, but the pram is Australian, and not common in the US. (Yes, I’d love to know the story behind that . . . ). It’s a Steelcraft Strider 4, probably a 2008 model. Here’s what the stock version looks like:
Steelcraft is a General Motors sort of stroller company. Their products are somewhat clumsy, on the heavy side, and pretty much miss the mark when it comes either to style or any coolness factor. Baron Cohen’s people changed all that.
Update, per above, 3/13/2010: Here’s the way-similar, but cooler-looking, UPPABaby Vista:
Less is more, here, as in so many instances. But on to the specifics of the Brüno mod.
First, they painted the frame bright white (and, in the process, obliterated the pram’s identity). They removed a fabric panel from the lower chassis, giving the frame a more structural look:
This is a little tricky to visualize, especially since the frames are reversed in the two pictures. The image on the left is the same chassis, but with the stroller seat on it. The fabric panel is under the stroller footrest. The panel is missing on the white frame (see the rectangle at the front), giving the chassis a lighter, leaner look.
There’s a wide, fat support bar that runs through the basket, and can’t easily be seen on the stock model. Removing the basket and frame make the bar a design feature:
Of course, there’s no storage once the basket is gone, but that’s OK. Social Services removed Brüno’s baby (and pram) before the conclusion of the show on which he was appearing, thus rendering the issue of cargo capacity irrelevant.
The bed was entirely re-upholstered (the original is only available in red or slate). The Brüno designers chose crisp white and black contrasts, and added piping at the front, which echoes and defines the shape much better. The tailored look is a complete turn-around from the rather conventional, ho-hum, look of the original:
The laptop was a nice touch, but is, as it was meant to be, asinine. I assume the baby had his own remote. (Although in this shot, the baby seems to have been replaced by a brown leather handbag. Make of that what you will.)
If Brüno were a better movie, this use of pure white for the frame, along with the black and white choices for the pram body, might have been some kind of social commentary, and an amusing foreshadowing of Brüno’s evolution into a white dove (or angel, or whatever it is he morphs into at the end). But it isn’t, so they aren’t. Still, it’s a really impressive stroller mod.
Red Strider image from Gumtree.
Stroller image from Britax/Steelcraft.
UPPABaby image from (right) UPPABaby
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