Director: Nicholas Stoller
Starring: Billy Eichner, Luke Macfarlane
Year: 2022
Bros is the best rom-com since Sleeping with Other People, which was the best rom-com since When Harry Met Sally, so it’s in excellent company. It’s also a near-perfect love story, a little genre gem, a credit to the style, with enough references thrown in to make sure that you know that they know what they’re doing, that they know that we know they know we know, you know? That old chestnut, but somehow fresher than any recycled joke you’ve ever seen, with an honest edge that will surprise you but which is exactly why the story works so damn well.
Bobby is a cynic, a loner, a grumpy person whose anger is often justified; he’s had to fight his whole life just to be allowed to be what he is, unapologetically gay, and he’s not about to pipe down now. He’s opening a new LGBTQ+ museum, bringing queer history to life, and it’s a dream of his to have those stories heard, even if not everyone will listen. Enter Aaron, a bro who goes hard, bro; sculpted, macho, likes Country music, isn’t as comfortable talking about being gay all the time or making a big deal out of it. He & Bobby fall in love fast, but their polar opposite personalities will make it difficult for the relationship to work, unless both are willing to bend before the other breaks.
Not only is Bros an excellent example of a rom-com (even going Hallmark-holiday-love-story, with a lead actor who’s been in about a dozen of ’em), but it moves beyond that; it takes the genre and says “a gay couple can headline a romance too.” But it doesn’t stop there, the next message is that love isn’t love, gay relationships are different from straight relationships, and that’s OK, it’s OK to learn about our differences and to tell those stories. In that vein, Bros teaches us all, opening our eyes to what we’ve been ignoring; queer history, gay sex, and what it means to constantly be told that you need to tone down who you are because it makes others uncomfortable. This is a film with something to say, with real heart under all the silly rom-com stuff, and that’s where the real quality is. But it’s also funny, cheeky, clever, quick, insightful, touching, heart-warming, and relevant; this is why we watch great movies, to be simultaneously entertained and to feel something real, which happens here in a way that will stick with you.
My rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆