A gay rights activist who no longer believes in love meets a man he falls in love with. The terms of this relationship are clear at first, but the fact that the two lovers are both afraid of commitment complicates things a little…
Posted at 9:30 a.m.
Much is made of the fact that Bros (chums in French version) is the first romantic comedy written and mainly performed by artisans from the LGBTQ+ community, produced by a major Hollywood studio. Comedian Billy Eichner, best known for his series Funny or Die’s Billy on the Street, signs here a first scenario by putting forward a sentimental relationship combined with the masculine, told in a rather frontal way, within the limits of a production intended for a wider audience. That said, we’re a long way from the chaste kiss of 40 years ago between Harry Hamlin and Michael Ontkean in Making Love…
Launched at the Toronto festival, where it was acclaimed by the entire North American press, Bros corresponds in all respects to what our English-speaking friends call a crowd pleaser. Billy Eichner, who also plays the main role, knows how to write – and pronounce – lines that hit home and the characters are endearing. Even if the story is strewn with pitfalls, which stem from the lack of commitment of the two protagonists (Luke Macfarlane embodies the hero’s lover), no spectator will doubt its outcome and the festive atmosphere in which it will all end.
Bros also tries to play on two tables. Well aware of the clichés linked to the genre of romantic comedy, in addition to those associated with the painting of the gay milieu, Billy Eichner takes great care to recognize their presence, while fully assuming them.
It is also interesting to note that at a time when the Cinémathèque québécoise is devoting a month-long retrospective to Bruce LaBruce, whose entire work denounces gay neoconservatism and borrowings from heteronormative models, comes this well-made film, directed by Nicholas Stoller (Neighbors), which seeks consensus. With this story that could almost end with “They lived happily and had many children” (in a possible sequel perhaps?), Bros is like the more polite flip side of the same coin.
Bros (chums in French version) is currently playing.
Romantic comedy
Bros
(VF: chums)
Nicholas Stoler
Starring Billy Eichner, Luke Macfarlane, Bowen Yang
1:55
Indoors