Queer representation has been making leaps and bounds in recent years, but no leap has been bigger than the release of Bros, one of the first gay romantic comedies ever released by a major studio (although let’s not forget the top notch Christmas comedy, Happiest Season). If you’ve been jonesing for a fun, flirty, and furiously funny queer rom-com your prayers have been answered, because Bros is in cinemas now.
Billy Eichner, who co-wrote the screenplay with director Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek), stars as podcast host Bobby Lieber, a big deal in the queer community (he scored the coveted “Best Cis Male Gay Man” Award) who enjoys being single and free to mingle.
Things change when he has a nightclub meet-cute with hunky Aaron (Luke MacFarlane), although he doesn’t know it yet—it takes time for the pair to realise that they might actually have real feelings for each other, and negotiating what that means in modern gay dating culture with its casual hook-ups, ethical non-monogamy, and fraught identity politics is a big ask. The course of true love never ran smooth, and that’s never been truer than in Bros.
Sharp, sparky, brilliantly written and sometimes brutally honest, Bros is a blisteringly funny take on queer relationships, giving us a warmly romantic journey that also doesn’t skimp on the snark and cutting remarks. Eichner, who’s been a fun presence on our screens ever since his breakout in Billy on the Street, makes his mark here as an utterly charming rom-com lead, and support from the likes of queer icons Ts Madison, Amanda Bearse, Jim Rash, and Harvey Fierstein means we’re never short of a devastating quip.
Sadly, Bros took a bath at the US box office, but don’t let it suffer the same fate here—it’s an absolute gem.
