It only took 110 years, but a major Hollywood studio has finally produced and released its first high-profile gay romantic comedy in theatres. Bros is both a terrific romance and a terrific comedy story that’s a rare kind at the movies these days.
What makes Bros so convincingly watchable is the the captivating and varied personalities of both its male leads and supporting characters. Everyone in the ensemble has a wide scope of interests, passions, ideas and beliefs that are fascinating and funny to watch people go through their every day lives.
Yes, the sexual identity of stars Bobby (Billy Eichner) and Aaron (London, Ontario’s Luke Macfarlane) are key to who they are, but it’s one of their many qualities with equal standing to their characters. Their careers, friends, family and aspirations all get equal (or more!) screen time as their romantic relationship does.
There’s a large amount of masculinity on display among the men of New York, and that subject is front and center in this story about two mismatched gay men (one athletic, one scrawny) who inexplicably fall for each other and learn to come together.
Calling the film and its concept pioneering is an over-simplification for how, in a sea of film and television falling short of increasing representation on screen, Bros is bringing an extraordinary amount of authenticity to the gay and LGBTQ+ community. (It makes the same attempt by Amazon’s upcoming My Policeman look embarrassing by comparison.)
Unending credit for Bros’ success is the decade-long efforts of co-writer and star Billy Eichner for how he’s refined the story and screenplay to succeed on these many fronts. Having a great director and co-writer like Nicholas Stoller (comedy veteran of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Neighbors and 2011’s The Muppets) makes the material even sharper.
The movie is more often sweet and earnest rather than laugh-out-loud funny, but there are several scenes and one-liners that still win big laughs. Go in expecting a prominent romance with jokes on the side.
Being an R-rated love story, however, there are several sequences of unabashed sex, all of which are male only. Cautious viewers will be glad to know there’s nothing pornographic, nor is there any explicit nudity. There are, however, multiple extended sex scenes where it’s pretty clear what’s going on.
Despite the uncompromising nature of what gay love is, isn’t and wants to be - most of it is fully clothed and won’t make straight viewers uncomfortable. Don’t let that deter you from seeing the film in the first place. I’m a straight, married man, so I’ll admit some jokes may have gone over my head, though my wife and I found Bros to be affecting, loving and very funny.
Bros encapsulates so much of what modern, city romances are like: messy, quirky, anxious, heartfelt, varied, and all of the above all at once. In my limited, heterosexual male lens: the film is great fun for adult men, women, gender and gender identity in between.
Bros
14A, 1hr 55mins. Comedy Romance.
Co-Written and Directed by Nicholas Stoller.
Starring Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane.
Starring Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Chris Pine, Olivia Wilde, Nick Kroll, Gemma Chan and Kiki Layne.
Now Playing at Film.Ca Cinemas, 5 Drive-In, Cineplex Winston Churchill and Cineplex Oakville & VIP.
