BROS
****
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Screenplay: Nicholas Stoller and Billy Eichner
Principal cast:
Billy Eichner
Luke Macfarlane
Guy Branum
Miss Lawrence
Ts Madison
Dot-Marie Jones
Country: USA
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 115 mins.
Australian release date: 27 October 2022.
Films about gay men and lesbians have been around as long as cinema itself (see Vito Russo’s excellent book, The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies, first published in 1981) but I can’t remember one that’s quite as ‘out and proud’ as Bros. Nicholas Stoller and Billy Eichner have written an hilarious script that’s a joy to watch, chock-full of gags attacking clichés about gays in a way that treats their sexuality as mainstream. It not only sends up misplaced attitudes held by straights but stereotypes held within the gay community, too. Thus, Bros is a film for everyone - hopefully, it will dispel some negative attitudes about the homosexual ‘lifestyle’ and introduce viewers to a multidimensional population that has survived both homophobia and AIDS. As one of the guys in the movie says, “The world caught up with us.” He might have added, “finally!”
On one level, the movie is a classic rom-com, only this one is boy, acerbic activist Bobby Lieber (Billy Eichner), meets boy, sweet and buff Aaron Shepard (Luke Macfarlane). As the formula goes, the leads meet and fall in love, obstacles arise, they argue and separate before triumphantly getting back together and living happily ever after (well, maybe not that long). So far, so trite. What raises this one above the standard fare is the screenplay. It was co-written by the director, Nicholas Stoller, who’s heterosexual, and star Billy Eichner, who’s gay, and that fusion probably explains its successful straddling of both worlds. Eichner says, “I had never written a movie before and Nick didn’t really know much about gay culture, other than what the media tells us. So, I educated him on gay culture and he educated me on how to structure a screenplay for a major studio [Universal Pictures]. The partnership was a funny, unique, surprising marriage of sorts, among co-writers. We were very much partners on everything. And that began what became a five-year process.” And it helps to have Judd Apatow on board as one of the movie’s producers. He’s been responsible for many hit comedies in recent decades, films like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Bridesmaids and Trainwreck, among others, so he’s got a pretty good idea about what works.
The performances are uniformly terrific. Bros is the first movie to feature an entirely LGBTQ+ principal cast and it’s got all the bases covered; Bobby is on the board of a planned National LGBTQ+ History Museum and his fellow board members represent all the initials in that acronym. As a result, their meetings are very funny because they’re all seeking equal and accurate representation for their particular sub-cultures in the museum. Eichner and Macfarlane are first-rate as the couple who aren’t sure if they’re ready to settle down. The latter actor is known for his work on cheesy telemovies for the Hallmark Channel and there is a running gag throughout Bros relating to them; he’s obviously a good sport.
Adding romance to the film is the score. It was written by Tony Award-winner and seven-time Oscar nominee Marc Shaiman, whose music has helped shape some of the most iconic rom-coms of the past three decades, including When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle.
Nicholas Stoller, whose filmography includes the straight romantic comedies Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek, says, “This movie is all about masculinity and the inability for men - particularly in the gay community - to be vulnerable and to be comfortable in their own skin. I think these are issues that any man has dealt with in some way, but it’s specific to the gay community.” That may be the case, but there are lessons in Bros for everybody. It’s a touching bromance… and a lot of laughs.
Screenplay: Nicholas Stoller and Billy Eichner
Principal cast:
Billy Eichner
Luke Macfarlane
Guy Branum
Miss Lawrence
Ts Madison
Dot-Marie Jones
Country: USA
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 115 mins.
Australian release date: 27 October 2022.
Films about gay men and lesbians have been around as long as cinema itself (see Vito Russo’s excellent book, The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies, first published in 1981) but I can’t remember one that’s quite as ‘out and proud’ as Bros. Nicholas Stoller and Billy Eichner have written an hilarious script that’s a joy to watch, chock-full of gags attacking clichés about gays in a way that treats their sexuality as mainstream. It not only sends up misplaced attitudes held by straights but stereotypes held within the gay community, too. Thus, Bros is a film for everyone - hopefully, it will dispel some negative attitudes about the homosexual ‘lifestyle’ and introduce viewers to a multidimensional population that has survived both homophobia and AIDS. As one of the guys in the movie says, “The world caught up with us.” He might have added, “finally!”
On one level, the movie is a classic rom-com, only this one is boy, acerbic activist Bobby Lieber (Billy Eichner), meets boy, sweet and buff Aaron Shepard (Luke Macfarlane). As the formula goes, the leads meet and fall in love, obstacles arise, they argue and separate before triumphantly getting back together and living happily ever after (well, maybe not that long). So far, so trite. What raises this one above the standard fare is the screenplay. It was co-written by the director, Nicholas Stoller, who’s heterosexual, and star Billy Eichner, who’s gay, and that fusion probably explains its successful straddling of both worlds. Eichner says, “I had never written a movie before and Nick didn’t really know much about gay culture, other than what the media tells us. So, I educated him on gay culture and he educated me on how to structure a screenplay for a major studio [Universal Pictures]. The partnership was a funny, unique, surprising marriage of sorts, among co-writers. We were very much partners on everything. And that began what became a five-year process.” And it helps to have Judd Apatow on board as one of the movie’s producers. He’s been responsible for many hit comedies in recent decades, films like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Bridesmaids and Trainwreck, among others, so he’s got a pretty good idea about what works.
The performances are uniformly terrific. Bros is the first movie to feature an entirely LGBTQ+ principal cast and it’s got all the bases covered; Bobby is on the board of a planned National LGBTQ+ History Museum and his fellow board members represent all the initials in that acronym. As a result, their meetings are very funny because they’re all seeking equal and accurate representation for their particular sub-cultures in the museum. Eichner and Macfarlane are first-rate as the couple who aren’t sure if they’re ready to settle down. The latter actor is known for his work on cheesy telemovies for the Hallmark Channel and there is a running gag throughout Bros relating to them; he’s obviously a good sport.
Adding romance to the film is the score. It was written by Tony Award-winner and seven-time Oscar nominee Marc Shaiman, whose music has helped shape some of the most iconic rom-coms of the past three decades, including When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle.
Nicholas Stoller, whose filmography includes the straight romantic comedies Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek, says, “This movie is all about masculinity and the inability for men - particularly in the gay community - to be vulnerable and to be comfortable in their own skin. I think these are issues that any man has dealt with in some way, but it’s specific to the gay community.” That may be the case, but there are lessons in Bros for everybody. It’s a touching bromance… and a lot of laughs.