NathanielLee is a writer for The Hollywood Insider who focuses on writing feature and review articles. He is an aspiring filmmaker who specializes in the horror and surrealist genres as well as indie filmmaking. Nathaniel believes that film is a powerful tool that can be used to stir up and bring valuable change to the world through messages and internal meanings. He also believes in the mantra of the smaller the better and sincerely believes that entertainment with meager budgets has the power to alter society altogether. As a result, his views align with The Hollywood Insider’s mission statements concerning anti-gossip and positive journalism with a focus on improving the world through uplifting others instead of tearing them down. Nathaniel is currently applying to universities where he looks to study film.
Oct 11, 2022
Table of Contents
Photo: ‘Bros’
An original premise
‘Bros’ is a new 2022 film from Universal starring Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane. The film was directed by Nicholas Stoller and written by Nicholas Stoller and Billy Eichner. The film follows the characters Bobby, played by Billy Eichner, and Aaron, played by Luke Macfarlane, and their relationship with one another. What starts out as a meet-cute at the club turns into something more and we follow these two men as they traverse the difficult path that is gay dating. This is without a doubt a romantic comedy, and while this may be a turn-off for some I assure you that it is not your typical rom-com. Well, actually, let me rephrase myself. While it may present itself as your run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, ‘Bros’ is in fact something of a new nature in the rom-com genre. This is due to a number of factors but mainly due to the fact that ‘Bros’ is a romantic comedy that centers around a gay couple and not a straight couple as every other studio rom-com is focused around.
This gives ‘Bros’ an air of authenticity that for the most part is unmatched. ‘Bros’ enters into a new territory of filmmaking that is not usually seen by audiences. While underground queer cinema has certainly been around for decades from the likes of people like Gregg Araki, ‘Bros’ is unique in its mainstream presence under a distribution company as big as Universal Pictures. The premise behind ‘Bros’ is also one that is quite original. A romantic comedy from the perspective of an LBGTQ+ couple is something that has very rarely been seen before. All of this combined gives ‘Bros’ a sense of originality that is not usually seen in the romantic comedy genre.
‘Bros’ – Many positives
‘Bros’ as a film is laugh-out-loud hilarious. There is no better word to describe the film’s humor and mischief. Our duo goes around critiquing society and each other as well as sharing intimate moments. Billy Eichner’s background and prior experience in comedy certainly shine through the screen in his writing in the film as well. There is never a dull moment to be experienced with ‘Bros.’
Another aspect of ‘Bros’ that I quite enjoyed was the film’s ability to seemingly take cliches from the romantic comedy genre and make fun of them. Items such as the classic “wait!” and the subtle turn around as well as locking eyes from across the room, are used in this film and not in a cliched way. Instead, Eichner and Stoller use and abuse these cliches and turn them on their head incorporating even more humor into a film that already has so much. Eichner and Stoller certainly knew what they were making with ‘Bros’ and played no games when it came to the content that would be included in the film. Altogether, ‘Bros’ has many positive aspects, certainly too many to cover here in this article, however, I believe that where ‘Bros’ succeeds the most is in its originality, humor, and embracing of typical genre cliches.
Full Commentary and Interviews at the Premiere of ‘Bros’
The single negative
After stepping out of my local theater there was really only one thing that I had grown to dislike about ‘Bros.’ This is an aspect of the film which in hindsight is something that ‘Bros’ itself is not directly responsible for, but something which I felt like covering regardless. You see, with every film genre there are a certain amount of limitations placed on the films in that respective genre. The romantic comedy genre is no exception to this and is even a genre that may be more affected by this problem. To put it concisely, romantic comedies can only shoot so high. It is my opinion that we will never see a romantic comedy as great as ‘Casablanca,’ and this is of no fault to the romantic comedy in question but instead because of the genre itself.
Films in the romantic comedy genre leave much to be desired after the credits roll. This is in my opinion a fact that cannot be ignored when examining a romantic comedy. ‘Bros’ is no exception to this. ‘Bros’ suffers from the same problems that every romantic comedy suffers from, namely, a simplistic plot, and an overall flat story. While these negative elements may be reduced in ‘Bros’ due to the film’s quality, they are nonetheless still actively present. Thus, the one negative aspect of ‘Bros’ in my mind is that it is a romantic comedy. The film is a romantic comedy holds it back from what it could have been. That being said, it is a great movie and not just a decent one.
All in all
Looking back, ‘Bros’ is a fantastic romantic comedy with lots of great laughs and original humor. It also is without a doubt a great step forward in the realm of representation in film and the arts as a whole. ‘Bros’ knows exactly what it is and even uses the romantic comedy genre to its advantage by making use of old and tested genre cliches which have been seen for decades. But altogether, the fall of ‘Bros’ is that it was a romantic comedy in the first place. The genre simply has too many limitations for ‘Bros’ to be labeled as a great film. However, this does not mean that ‘Bros’ does not have heart or that it is not a good romantic comedy. Overall I would recommend ‘Bros’ to those who are fans of the romcom genre or anyone looking to have a good laugh. I would also suggest that any film lovers go, see, and support ‘Bros’ for the achievement it is in the area of inclusion in film. There is no doubt in my mind that ‘Bros’ will be remembered for the steps it made for LGBTQ+ people in film. But as far as the film goes, ‘Bros’ is yet another fantastic romantic comedy although only a decent film.
Make sure to also check out Rob Zombie’s new film, ‘The Munsters’ on Netflix.
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Writers: Nicholas Stoller and Billy Eichner
Cast: Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane
Producers: Judd Apatow, Nicholas Stoller, and Joshua Church
By Nathaniel Lee
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NathanielLee is a writer for The Hollywood Insider who focuses on writing feature and review articles. He is an aspiring filmmaker who specializes in the horror and surrealist genres as well as indie filmmaking. Nathaniel believes that film is a powerful tool that can be used to stir up and bring valuable change to the world through messages and internal meanings. He also believes in the mantra of the smaller the better and sincerely believes that entertainment with meager budgets has the power to alter society altogether. As a result, his views align with The Hollywood Insider’s mission statements concerning anti-gossip and positive journalism with a focus on improving the world through uplifting others instead of tearing them down. Nathaniel is currently applying to universities where he looks to study film.
NathanielLee is a writer for The Hollywood Insider who focuses on writing feature and review articles. He is an aspiring filmmaker who specializes in the horror and surrealist genres as well as indie filmmaking. Nathaniel believes that film is a powerful tool that can be used to stir up and bring valuable change to the world through messages and internal meanings. He also believes in the mantra of the smaller the better and sincerely believes that entertainment with meager budgets has the power to alter society altogether. As a result, his views align with The Hollywood Insider’s mission statements concerning anti-gossip and positive journalism with a focus on improving the world through uplifting others instead of tearing them down. Nathaniel is currently applying to universities where he looks to study film.
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