Review: “Bros” The DNA Verdict
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I had never warmed to Billy Eichner’s comedy before. Billy On The Street – meh. Difficult People – hard to watch, not funny. Parks And Recreations – I only saw one episode and I don’t think he was in it.
Bros has changed that. This is a funny, clever, meaningful and heart-warming gay rom-com. It’s everything it claims to be and more.
Eichner and co-writer/director Nicholas Stoller thoroughly understand how the rom-com genre works and, not only that, have a deep understanding of the LGBTQIA+ collective psyche. What a treat to see that reflected on screen.
Yes, it’s a very cis, white male story, but that’s unapologetically what it is. Sorry. And, yes, independent producers and filmmakers have been making gay rom-coms for decades; what’s refreshing with Bros is seeing the story told with all the finesse that a major studio can bring.
Gay sex lives and gay relationships are not the same as straight people’s – and Eichner calls bullshit on the heteronormative models we often try to squeeze ourselves into while seeking their approval. There is no tear-jerking gay wedding at the end. Thank God!
The laughs, and there are many, come from recognisable, contemporary gay truths: app hook-ups, awkward parental interactions, nightclub etiquette, cruising, and gay clichés that are, let’s be honest, a little bit true.
But there is a kick amid the hilarity. Billy’s character’s speech on the beach in Provincetown not only spoke to me, it spoke about me. It was me. The person he described, the life experience of that person, were mine. Being overlooked because of my sexuality, seeing other, less talented contemporaries rise effortless up the success ladder because they’re straight, becoming a resilient, confident person because I have had to, to survive, but losing a little of the capacity to love and be loved in the process. These are universal truths for many of us, and I have never seen them so eloquently and passionately expressed on screen before.
This speech rendered the cinema silent. No laughs, no popcorn rustling, no drink slurping. Silent. It was probably something Billy had wanted to say for a very long time, and it was something many of us never expected to hear, let alone in a multiplex cinema. Until he spoke it, I didn’t even know that I had lived it.
And at the end of the speech he is rewarded with a kiss from Luke Macfarlane. Not just any kiss, but a kiss that says, I love you for this. I love you for becoming the person you are… And then a beautiful song by Joan Armatrading, Love And Affection which, I’ll confess, had tears rolling down these cynical old cheeks!
But it’s a rom-com so of course things unravel, people make poor choices, we love Billy a little less later on, but… it’s a rom-com so there’s an eleventh-hour reprise, a mad dash across town, a corny song, and more jokes to send us out of the theatre with a smile and a warm heart.
The cast is a who’s-who of people who should be in a movie like this from Harvey Fierstein to Jai Rodriguez and Debra Messing, who is impressive in a hilarious short scene as herself, proving her comedy chops are still in good working order.
Ignore the trolls on Rotten Tomatoes and the poor reviews from homophobes and gigots. I’m giving this 4.5 stars out of 5 (even if the third act droops ever so slightly), and let’s give that man an Oscar. Yes, I know that’s unlikely for a gay romantic comedy, but I’m just saying.
Billy Eichner, whoever you really are, thank you for this. The message here is allow yourself to be loved. We all need to hear this.
Bros is out in cinemas October 27. Book tickets and find information here.
