Bros
Luke Macfarlane and Billy Eichner get real about love in Bros.
A romantic comedy about the unromantic side of relationships.
Successful podcaster Bobby (Billy Eichner) should be living the dream. He’s successful, he’s been put in charge of developing an LGBTQ+ Museum in New York City, and he’s got a myriad of friends. But one thing he doesn’t have is love.
He says it doesn’t matter. He’s happy with Grindr hookups and no attachments. And yet, when he meets Aaron (Luke Macfarlane) in a club, he feels a pull to him.
Can Bobby and Aaron make it work? And what the hell does making it work look like for a modern gay couple?
There is a moment early in Bros where Bobby details an offer he got to write a gay rom-com. The producer wanted a simple love story, just like the straight movies that came before it — something a straight guy would take his girlfriend to and laugh. Bobby rails against this idea because straight people have spent centuries erasing LGBTQ+ history and allow it now, only if it fits into the parameters they enjoy and understand.
Bros certainly expands past the parameters of what straight rom-coms look like, yet what Billy Eichner has done, essentially, is make a rom-com that straight people can easily consume when they go to the cinema. This isn’t a bad thing. And while, yes, the leads are both cis white men, Bros is the first step and one that will hopefully open the door to more varied stories from a community that is still marginalized on screen.
While Bros opens some new doors, it will also feel familiar. Director Nicholas Stoller, the guy behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Neighbors, has an absurdist comedy sensibility that works with his leading man. This very much feels like an Apatow romantic comedy, along the lines of Trainwreck or Knocked Up. Keep that in mind before you bring younger viewers to see it unless group sex is something you think your kid should know about.
The film’s biggest asset, and risk, is Eichner as the star. While his “Billy on the Street” persona is toned down for his first leading film role, his Bobby retains all the shouty, aggressive personality traits that put Eichner on the map. This means, if you find Eichner grating, you’ll likely find Bobby pretty grating too. I thought director Nicholas Stoller successfully showed off Eichner’s sharp intellect and made Bobby a loveable mess of a man.
Eichner’s hand is also clearly visible in the script, which he co-wrote with Stoller. There’s a myriad of sharp observances in the film that make it fun. Bobby and Aaron bemoan “another gay cowboy movie” featuring straight actors seeking awards accolades for playing gay. Bobby especially is dismissive of straight actors getting all the good gay parts. The point is hammered home in Bros by the casting of some iconic gay actors in straight roles throughout the film (Queer Eye’s Jai Rodriguez plays Aaron’s brother and Amanda Bearse plays Aaron’s mom). It’s a good joke, and one that might go right over the heads of some of the audience. There’s also a great gag with Debra Messing, but I won’t spoil that for you.
Another brilliant bit of satire is the continued lampooning of the Hallmark Channel (branded the Hallheart channel in the film) and the company’s commitment to bland Christmas fare for bland people. Bobby lays on his sofa grimacing as he watches their inclusive movies like A Holly Poly Christmas. It’s a hilarious recurring joke in the film as the Hallheart movies get more ridiculous, and I encourage the real Hallmark Channel to consider making A Holly Poly Christmas a reality.
The Hallmark satire also works because Bobby’s love interest is played by a bona fide Hallmark star. Macfarlane has been the face of such films as A Shoe Addict’s Christmas, Chateau Christmas, and Christmas in My Heart. Truly his role here is a bit of a riff on the Hallmark leading man trope. Aaron is out, but uneasy with Bobby’s need to press for representation and fight oppression. He’d rather laugh off a slur or let outdated attitudes go unchallenged — it’s more comfortable that way. He’s both attracted to Bobby’s fierce refusal to dampen who he is for others and afraid of it.
Though the film has one too many overly-sincere speeches that explain the motivations of Bobby and Aaron, it’s hard to fault Bros for wanting its message to be as clear as possible. Despite its cynical underpinnings, Bros is at its heart a love story and a story about loving who you are as well as other people. The ending lapses into the cliches that Eichner rails against in the opening act, but for ¾ of the film, he delivers on his promise of breezy, charming comedy that doesn’t kowtow to studio standards.
Verdict: If you’re a fan of Eichner’s brand of comedy or Apatow romantic comedies like Trainwreck, this is a must-see.
Bros is rated R and available in theaters.
