‘Bros’ a familiar story with an appealing twist
by Ramona DiFrancesco
The movie “Bros,” which you may have heard about through stellar reviews or heavy meme content, is a twist on the typical “You’ve Got Mail”-esque rom-coms we’re used to, by utilizing an all, openly LGBTQ+ cast.
The movie grossed only $4.8 million in its opening weekend, a noticeable difference between the $8 million-$10 million predicted by the studio producing it. It’s possible these lower box office numbers may have been due to a lack of marketing, audience, or October not exactly being a hot time to go see a rom-com.
But I had to see for myself, so a friend and I attended a showing at a local theater with only five other seats having been filled. The movie starts with a sort of “Sex and the City”-type vibe: Eichner’s character, Bobby, describing the “Here’s me, and here’s my life” of it all in a voiceover, showing Bobby as the host of a successful podcast. A podcast that we never hear about again through the movie, one of many (in my opinion, easily ignorable) continuity errors.
For the rest of the film, Eichner’s character works at an LGBT history museum in New York City, the first of its kind. With some reviews criticizing the characters not having much personality other than their LGBT identities, I would argue that 1) passion, emotion, and identity being handled by men is really one of the main ideas being offered by the movie and 2) so many hetero rom-coms have leading and side characters lacking substance and identity in them while “Bros” feels like a breath of fresh air in comparison.
The movie is as raunchy as the trailer would suggest, especially being a Judd Apatow movie, but it shouldn’t be any shock to those who are familiar with Eichner’s over-the-top, eccentric brand. Besides, the movie follows the general guidelines of any hetero rom-com. There’s the meet-cute at the club where we first see our love interests, they date casually for a bit before they figure out if they want to be exclusive, someone does something that breaks the other’s trust, they break up, and by the end they realize they only want to be with each other. Or in the case of “Bros,” well, you have to see for yourself.
In a gay love story focused on two completely different men who learn to breathe through their insecurities, and experiment with polyamory, we watch them grow comfortable with a longer-term romantic, monogamous relationship.
The movie has its deep emotional scenes where both leading men access their vulnerability, and largely comedic scenes that surprised at every turn. Sort of written like a Tina Fey show, it has just the right amount of heart and humor, and actually isn’t much different than any hetero rom-com I’ve seen.
As an Eichner fan, I loved seeing his snarky attitude and ability to make rage hilarious in his character. And the film itself is, simply, an orientation-bending take on a classic trope: Have you found the one?
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