Review: Bros
Written by Scott Henderson’s +1, Jordan Davies
As soon as I entered the cinema complex, I knew this was the Sydney premier of Bros.
The air was thick with Santal 33 and twink sweat. Girls clutched at their boyfriends the same way single girls clutched at their drinks, and let’s BeReal: that many gays in a room does generate a palpable frenetic energy – particularly as Billy Eichner (Lead/Btm), Luke MacFarlane (Love interest/Top) and Nick Stoller (Straight Director/Writer) took to the stage for a short Q&A.
There’s been a lot of build up about Bros. Lots of talk about it being the first openly gay film from a major studio (Universal), and then for being a financial disappointment, which, to be honest, is a little on the nose. Nonetheless I was very excited to see it, and despite Courtney Act telling me, “I’m sure you’ll find a reason to hate it,” I thought it was a lot of fun.
Bros is funny, with some very sweet moments and a couple of very touching lines that could have only come from the mind of a truly insightful, gay writer – further proof that diversity is extremely important off screen too.
If you haven’t heard, it’s a romantic comedy about a neurotic, extremely camp 40 year-old man (Bobby) who falls for a hunky dude (Aaron) who, by comparison, is more of a bro. However, instead of this being a simple story about these two overcoming their unmatched levels of campness, the film tries to take on a lot more…
*Cue Courtney rolling her eyes*
Compared to something like Notting Hill – a simple story about a regular dude who falls for the biggest movie star on the planet – I kinda feel like Bros needed to refine the formula of it’s love story, editing out some of the superfluous story lines/plot points. I understand that as gays, we come with an impressive arsenal of psychological and emotional trauma, but the attempt to tackle so many gay tropes kinda made it difficult to delve into the the particular situation our heroes needed to overcome in order to fall in love, and as such, their story kinda meanders.
Further, throughout the film I kept wondering how it would look from the top’s perspective, which made me think that maybe Bobby wasn’t the sympathetic hero that we wanted to root for. A few other audience members noted that Bobby never compromised within this love story, which made him unbelievable as a love interest – particularly for someone with lashes like Aaron.
There was also no nudity which felt like a missed opportunity given Ryan Faucett’s participation.
Importantly, this film is not a failure. I suspect the reason American audiences weren’t that into it is because it, like the protagonist, is doggedly (lol) gay. He says Jesus was gay, and Abe Lincoln was gay, and while that means far less to Aussies, I can see how the Yanks would not be into it.
Had he mentioned the NRA, it would’ve been the full republican trifecta.
This film is Billy Eichner’s love letter to the gays, which explains his disappointment at the box office figures. This film comes from the heart of a guy who has spent 40 years figuring himself out and championing others to do the same, and that passion explodes onto the screen.
I walked out of the cinema feeling cool about there being an openly gay film from a major studio, and optimistic that maybe I too might fall in love with someone outrageously out of my league.
If you’re wondering if you should go see it in the cinemas, the answer is YB.
What’s overlooked in the media is the fact that Bros is fresh like an Eskimo sucking a Mentos. Hollywood’s toxic relationship with reboots, prequels, requels, sequels, remakes and adaptations makes it hard to ever really enjoy something on its own. So it’s quite satisfying to experience a new set of jokes from new set of characters.
Man, I fucking hated Hocus Pocus 2.
Go see Bros in the cinema, then have discussion with your bros: why do you think it works or doesn’t work?
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