Worth: $18.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Billy Eichner, Luke Macfarlane, Guy Branum, Dot-Marie Jones, Eve Lindsey, Miss Lawrence, Ts Madison, Jim Rash, Bowen Yang, Ryan Faucett
Intro:
If you love love, no matter what kind of love it is, you’ll love Bros.
Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) may be the director and co-writer of Bros, but to say that it is Billy Eichner’s baby is not an understatement. Eichner writes and stars in one of the year’s best and whip-smart romantic comedies that does more than paint a rainbow flag over the genre but gives insight into the myriad kinds of relationships in the LGBTQ+ community and honours each without judgement. After all, as Bobby (Eichner) states “The community is not a monolith.”
Bobby Leiber (Billy Eichner playing a version of himself) is a born and bred New Yorker, who runs a successful podcast titled “The Eleventh Brick at Stonewall”, a reference to the idea that it was probably a cis white gay guy that eventually got around to throwing a brick at the famous Stonewall Inn riots. His sideline as a children’s author has been less profitable as people aren’t interested in purchasing books about queer icons aimed at educating young kids. He states that he is the worst person to write a gay romance film because audiences aren’t ready for the reality of the queer community and instead want to see straight narratives transposed as gay. “Love is NOT love!” he insists to an imagined film executive.
Bobby is utterly self-reliant and actively avoids relationships, (relatively) happy with Grindr hook-ups. His career is taking off as he is awarded Best Cis Gay Male (presented by Kristin Chenoweth, just one of the delightful cameos in the film) and has taken on the position of running the National LGBTQ+ History Museum in Manhattan. Whilst his queer friends are celebrating entering poly relationships or having more kids, he steadfastly avoids becoming emotionally attached – “We’re horny and we’re selfish and we’re stupid. I don’t trust these people!” he tells his friends.
All that is about to maybe change as he exchanges glances with Aaron Shephard (Luke Macfarlane) across a crowded dancefloor at a party for a new app. Bobby’s friend Henry (Guy Branum) tells him that Aaron is hot but boring. Anyone with eyes can tell that the hypermasculine and perfect-bodied Aaron is hot. Bobby takes an unusual route to flirting with Aaron by telling him that he’s been told that he is boring. Despite this, there is a strong spark of attraction and the pair bond over their inability to be emotionally available to potential partners. Bobby goes in for the kiss only to find that Aaron has disappeared somewhere in the club. Eventually, the two do kiss but Aaron goes home with a buff couple.
Something sticks for Aaron and Bobby. They end up in a series of hilarious sexual scenarios but edge towards actually dating. Bobby’s passion for the queer community and its history is intimidating for Aaron, who is essentially straight passing and working in estate law. It doesn’t help that Bobby can’t help but make fun of Aaron’s tastes, which include the movie The Hangover and country singer Garth Brooks. Bobby is a prickly character, who wields his gay cred over Aaron as a way to address his insecurities about relationships and his personal insecurity over not being a buff ideal.
Meanwhile at work, Bobby is facing a new set of problems. The museum is underfunded to the tune of five million dollars and no-one on the committee can agree on the final installation. His workmates are played delightfully (if at first a tad one note) by an array of queer talent including Dot-Marie Jones as the no-nonsense lesbian, Eve Lindsey as the social media obsessed young trans woman, Miss Lawrence as the gender non-conforming Wanda, Ts Madison as the feisty trans woman Angela, and finally Jim Rash as the perpetually pissed off bisexual. Bobby insists that the final installation be a tribute to America’s first gay president, Abraham Lincoln (a theory that is seen by many as a stretch).
After messing up (pun intended) a possible donation from gay icon Debra Messing (playing herself), Bobby heads to Provincetown with Aaron in tow to hopefully get a donation from famed gay TV producer Lawrence Grape (Bowen Yang). Bobby fumbles the pitch and is saved by Aaron’s ability to effectively communicate with people. It’s a fascinating role reversal that leads to Bobby and Aaron being better able to communicate their deeper emotions about life. Bobby and Aaron both share the feeling that they were never good enough. Bobby’s confidence comes from resilience, but also because he has always had to fight to get on any playing field. Aaron admits that he really wanted to be a chocolatier but was swayed by his family to take up law and now has a job he despises.
It’s important to note that Eichner doesn’t have either character coming from homophobic homes – Bobby’s parents are dead, but they were supportive, and he has a great relationship with his sister and her family. Aaron’s family is alive, and although a little conservative, they are proud of him.
Of course, being a romantic comedy there has to be the tension of the couple falling in love and then breaking up. Aaron becomes aware that his high school crush Josh (Ryan Faucett) has recently come out. His attraction to Josh is palpable and he suggests a threesome with Bobby. Bobby cannot help but become jealous, even though he has sworn off heteronormative ideas about how relationships work. Worse, there is the meeting the parents scene, where Aaron asks Bobby to “tone it down” and a dinner turns into a small argument between Bobby and Aaron’s mother Anne (Amanda Bearse).
Eichner is a font of pop culture and queer history knowledge. He takes broad and sometimes specific swings at how pop culture depicts queer people. Bohemian Rhapsody, Brokeback Mountain, Philadelphia, Call Me By Your Name and the Hallmark channel all get swiped at. The script is filled with both hilarious and sharp observations about how queer culture has either been misinterpreted, straight-washed, or used as a vehicle to depict trauma. Eichner doesn’t shy away from the pain of the past, especially when he presents legendary Broadway talent Harvey Fierstein as a character who laments the passing of so many young men during the AIDs epidemic.
Bros knows what genre it’s working in and delights in upending it, but also adhering to its rules. Eichner has made a revolutionary film in casting only queer people in all the front of camera roles; even those who play straight people are part of the LGBTQ+ community. (Although Fire Island and Ryan Murphy’s remake of The Boys in the Band did a similar thing, both sadly were direct to streamer films.)
Bros is filled with so many references that will quickly pass you by if you’re not paying attention but it’s a film made with love and reverence to the queer community. It’s incredibly funny, openly vulnerable, and remarkably true. It does sag a little with its runtime and dips a little in the middle, but the ending is glorious. And the cameos are just a blast! If you love love, no matter what kind of love it is, you’ll love Bros.