Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures’ Bros is being billed as the first gay romcom from a major Hollywood studio. Some have argued that Love, Simon predated it but I don’t really feel that falls into romcom territory. That’s more a teenage coming of age film, more dramatic than funny. Bros aims to the the gay When Harry Met Sally, making sure you get that connection by referencing the film several times. Gay-themed comedies, dramas, horror films, etc. have largely been the providence of independent studios, and sadly a lot of them are … not great, mainly because they don’t have the budgets to be. A wonderful example of a really good indie, gay, holiday romcom is Make the Yuletide Gay from director Rob Williams. Do check it out (he’s got some other very well done films in his ouvre also worth seeking out). As far as Hollywood’s major studios go, gay stories have been dramas with terrible fates for the characters. Bros references Brokeback Mountain as one such film. And before Hollywood could even openly address gay characters on film, they were often the butt of veiled (and not so veiled) homophobic jokes. But over the years, gay characters have been treated poorly in films from The Killing of Sister George to Dallas Buyers Club. Perhaps it’s these films (and TV hasn’t been much better) that give them impression that gays are just morose creatures who hate their lives. Well, Bros aims to show the world that the gays are just like everyone else.
Bros stars Billy Eichner (who also co-wrote the screenplay) as Bobby Leiber, an insecure, surly New Yorker — that he’s gay is really besides the point — who has commitment-phobia and is focusing all of his attentions on opening the world’s first LGBTQ museum in a major city. It’s a huge task as $5 million in funding has fallen through, and his Board is arguing over what the final exhibit should be. While out with his friend Henry, Bobby locks eye with a hot guy on the dance floor and before he knows it, said guys is standing next to him attempting to have a conversation. The guy, Aaron (Luke Macfarlane) sounds like the typical gym-going lunkhead Bobby tries to avoid. Aaron also has a habit of disappearing when Bobby turns his head, pretty much cementing Bobby’s assumption of the guy who is only cruising around for his next hook-up (like that isn’t exactly what Bobby is doing). When they finally do get together for a ‘date’, it still ends in a most unexpected way that makes Bobby question if he really wants to get involved with Aaron. It takes a while for them to finally hit the sack, and while neither of them want to admit it, they know they are wildly attracted to each other precisely because of their differences (and Aaron isn’t really as dumb as Bobby first thinks, later admitting his secret childhood career goal … and it wasn’t his current job of preparing people’s wills). The question is, can either of them live up to the impossibly high expectations they’ve put on the other, and themselves, and will Bobby be able to secure another $5 million to save his museum? This is a romcom, so … maybe?
I have seen many gay-themed films over the years and I have not enjoyed most of them. Aside from Make the Yuletide Gay and The Men Next Door, I just find a lot of them depressing and unrelatable. Why do the lives of gay men always have to be portrayed with so much doom and gloom? It’s refreshing to see a studio get behind a comedy that could appeal to mainstream audiences as well as the target. There’s no reason that Bros can only be enjoyed by a specific group of people. (Yes, there are a couple of sex scenes that might make some people squirm, but no below the waist nudity, and one is ridiculously over the top.) The reason the film works so well is because it was written by Eichner, an out, gay man who knows his stuff — and isn’t afraid to skewer anyone in the LGBTQ community. (Straight director Nicholas Stoller also contributed to the screenplay.) There really is a ‘take no prisoners’ attitude at work here, and it’s okay because it’s Eichner’s words, obviously because no one else could spew out that much dialogue as quickly as he does. His Bobby wants to have a When Harry Met Sally type of romance, and he doesn’t see why being gay should prevent that from happening. Eichner plays Bobby so well that we have to wonder how much of himself is actually in the character (I felt the same way watching his hilarious Hulu series Difficult People). It’s just a refreshingly honest portrayal of a gay man through all of his foibles. Bobby feels like a real person.
Luke Macfarlane (apparently fans did not know he is gay in real life) is probably best known for his many straight romance movies on the Hallmark Channel — skewered hilariously throughout the movie as Hallheart Channel movies that found success with one gay-themed holiday film and kept going with even more absurd genres (and Hallmark actually is presenting its first gay Christmas movie this year). I, however, remember Macfarlane from the ABC series Brothers & Sisters as the boyfriend of Matthew Rhys’s character. The actor has made a name for himself over the years and can now be his authentic self on screen … even if it is a bit of a muscle-headed version. Probably one of the things that really is of concern to Bobby is Aaron’s ability to easily slide back into the closet a bit, either when his parents come into the city for the holidays or when he and Bobby bump into Aaron’s childhood friend, who he had a major crush on. But Aaron also shows up for Bobby and even helps in a major way with the museum, but when his friend comes out after they bump into each other, that complicates Aaron’s life and his relationship with Bobby. Does he stay in this relationship he’s been building — that Bobby’s own insecurities nearly tear down — or does he pursue that thing he’s always desired? It’s a tough situation and Macfarlane really makes you feel for Aaron even though we want him to stick with Bobby. Both he and Eichner give really terrific performances, a true gay version of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
The film is also populated with a plethora of well-known faces from the LGBTQ community including Dot-Marie Jones, Jim Rash, Guillermo Diaz (playing straight — and the film does also have commentary on straight actors playing gay so this is a little bit of turnabout being fair play), Jai Rodriguez and Amanda Bearse (both also playing straight), Harvey Fierstein, Guy Branum, Miss Lawrence, Ts Madison, Bowen Yang and RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Symone, never once in drag. Debra Messing also has a hilarious cameo where she reaches her breaking point of people confusing her with her Will & Grace character. And as much as I like Margaret Cho, she is refreshingly absent (it almost seems like a gay film is required to cast her, ahem Fire Island). The script is smart, funny and romantic, and is tightly directed by Stoller, and for my money is a much better representation of the LGBTQ community than the cliched Fire Island (which technically was also a major studio gay romcom, but that went straight to Hulu instead of getting a theatrical release, for good reason).
I know, and I’m sure the studio knows, that Bros is going to be a tough sell to mainstream audiences. I’m sure they are banking on its familiar stars to help draw people in who might otherwise not think twice about the film. The important thing to remember is that … the film depicts human beings. It doesn’t matter who they love because romcoms are universal. There is a formula that has made them successful and Eichner has found a way to use that formula and replace the heterosexual leads with two gay men. In today’s political climate, a film like this could be a very risky prospect (especially in states like Florida and Texas), so I applaud Universal for getting behind the film as strongly has it has. They could have shuffled it off directly to Peacock for fear of backlash and boycotts (how long before One Million Moms and the American Family Association launch boycotts of the Universal Studios theme parks?), but they are being loud and proud about Bros, easily one of the funniest and groundbreaking films of the year. Gay or straight, just go see it and have a few laughs.
Bros has a run time of 1 hour 55 minutes, and is rated R for strong sexual content, language throughout and some drug use.
Universal Pictures
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