Bros should not be a big deal. But it is. This is the first romcom with openly gay leads to be released by a major studio — ever, if you can believe that. It’s frustrating that it took so long, but does Bros deserve to be the movie that hits that milestone? Yes. Yes, absolutely, and then some.
This is not your average romance story where you swap out a straight couple for a gay one, to be clear. As Bobby (Billy Eichner) says early on in the film, “love is love” isn’t quite right: Gay relationships are different; gay friendships are different; gay sex is different. And while it also serves up sweeping, conventional romcom moments, Bros reflects that difference throughout. There’s no meet-cute — well there kind of is: The two main characters do lock eyes across the room but it’s in a neon-soaked nightclub full of shirtless gay men — and even the big love scene is less about tender hand-holding we’ve seen so many times before, and more about intimacy through pushing physical boundaries and redefining roles in the bedroom. Even the core relationship’s unavoidable bumps in the road are specific to the queer experience; they explore themes of internalized homophobia, societal narratives about what gay masculinity should look like, fighting to be yourself when the world tells you not to.
Comedian Billy Eichner has been working on making Bros happen for a long time now (he co-wrote and stars in it), and he makes for an incredibly charming leading man here. Intelligent and witty (and self-deprecating), he’s breathlessly verbose at first, barely giving you time to let scenes sink in — but as Bobby continues to have more vulnerabilities laid bare throughout Bros’ runtime, Eichner shines brighter. His performance in quieter moments is understatedly heartfelt while still maintaining all of the humor that makes Bobby (and Bros) so great, especially during one particularly powerful monologue on a beach.
Eichner is beautifully matched by Luke Macfarlane as Aaron, a will executor and non-committal group-sex-haver who looks like he has it all together from the outside, but is really struggling with confidence within. Aaron and Bobby’s ups and downs are deftly written; they can bring out the best and worst in each other in ways that only people who have a truly deep connection can, and their chemistry is palpable. Macfarlane brings a warmth and sincerity to Aaron even at his darkest moments; he’s the perfect counterpoint to Eichner’s pricklier, more self-aware exterior. But most importantly, they’re two fully fleshed-out gay characters — no two-dimensional tropes here.
So we know Bros has the “Rom” part down, but what about the “Com”? It’s unsurprising that this film is hilarious with Eichner on co-writing duties. But what might surprise you is how relentlessly funny it is; the joke-rate simply does not let up in the first act. The humour varies from snappy one-liners to clever sight gags and sharp observations on modern dating culture; rather than being hindered by its commitment to inclusivity, it is heightened by it. As Aaron and Bobby grow closer and time starts slipping away faster than ever before, there’s a slight lull in pace during the middle section of the movie – but don’t worry because Eichner and director/co-writer Nicholas Stoller keep throwing highly amusing set-pieces at you; a tense dinner scene amongst singing waiters here, an unexpected interaction with a special guest star there, an ill-fated attempt at polyamory just for good measure.
These are performed brilliantly by its predominantly LGBTQ+ cast, which we see most of through Bobby’s friend group and colleagues at the new museum he’s trying to open. This setting allows ‘Bros’ to weave in educational elements smartly, with a desire to inform people about queer history integral to Bobby’s character. The film doesn’t bash you over the head with this stuff, but creates a space where it can be spoken about. The goosebump-inducing montage of LGBTQ+ pioneers from decades past alone speaks volumes about why it’s so important this movie is on cinema screens; because yes — as much as anything else — this is undeniably true representation too often missing from Hollywood releases. And when you take into account that this (largely) silent community has been systematically eradicated throughout history until very recently even acknowledging their existence would have been illegal never mind giving them any kind of voice or platform well… suddenly those emotional arcs become impossible not to feel. Bros has been over a century in the making; let’s hope it doesn’t take quite so long for another one to come along.
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