Bros has been hailed as the first of its kind: an openly gay romcom with a predominately LGBTQ+ cast. It’s not the first film to do it, but it is the first to be produced by a major movie studio, because in the past, these kinds of pictures were done by indie studios and released quietly with little to no advertising. No such quiet release on this movie: it’s been plastered on promos and commercials, with a campaign as loud and proud as its lead and cowriter, Billy Eichner.
Eichner plays Bobby, a gay 40’s man living in New York, who hosts a podcast and radio show, and whose passion lies in spreading the history of gay people, making the world aware that some of its famous people of the past were in fact gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Furthering this goal, he’s put together funding for the National LGBTQ+ History Museum, the first of its kind, to open in Manhattan. Unfortunately the project keeps getting hit with delays due to lack of funding, and Bobby and his team butt heads over what displays they should even showcase.
In his personal life, Bobby, despite being 40 years old, has never been in love. He has casual sex with random men on Grindr but admits he’s never been in a serious relationship. Part of that comes from lack of confidence; though he’s comfortable talking work in front of a crowd, he’s much less so talking about his feelings to a single individual, and he feels he doesn’t meet the modern image of a gay man in a community dominated by muscular bodybuilding jocks. He’s come to the realization that he may just be single forever, but that stance may change when he meets Aaron. Aaron hails from a small town, which has made him more reserved and less comfortable in front of a crowd. But still, he is a big, strong dude, and initially, Bobby thinks he’s just another in the long line of one-night stands. As they continue to see each other though, they begin to start a relationship, and each man must face his demons if they are going to make it work.
The writing is pretty good when it sticks to what Eichner has been famous for: his comedy. The whole theater was laughing pretty hard in the first half of the film, where it pokes fun at gay and lesbian stereotypes, the world’s changing views on homosexuality and gender identity, and a host of other topics. Once the film settles into the romantic half of the romantic-comedy genre, it loses steam. If you were to substitute Aaron with a woman, you’d realize that this whole shtick has been done before, and done better. And honestly, some of the acting in the film is truly atrocious. The filmmakers obviously made it a point to fill the cast with LGBTQ+ people, many of whom are not actors, and it shows. I rate the comedy high, the drama low, and overall settle in at ★★★
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