At the beginning of “Bros,” a popular podcaster named Bobby (Billy Eichner) tells his listeners that he was recently asked for feedback on a gay romantic comedy — one that was pitched to him as a sweet, funny, accessible movie that would appeal to straight and gay audiences alike. But Bobby, outspoken on most topics in general and LGBTQ representation in particular, blanches at the notion that there’s anything “alike” about it. Gay and straight experiences aren’t interchangeable, he says, and it’s ridiculous to expect the former to conform to Hollywood’s monogamy-minded feel-good imperatives.
“Love is not love,” Bobby declares, demolishing a common bit of throw-pillow wisdom and setting “Bros” itself a pretty tricky challenge. This movie knows precisely what it is — a rare same-sex romantic comedy released by a major studio — and as such, it also knows it’s duty-bound to both challenge and uphold certain conventions. It must thumb its nose at what Bobby dismisses as staid heteronormative ideals (monogamy, marriage, etc.) while still giving us a couple worth rooting for beyond the length of a four-way orgy, to name one (actually two) of the movie’s bawdier set pieces.
That’s a tough needle to thread, and you could accuse “Bros” of trying to preempt some of its own criticism. This movie, which Eichner co-wrote with Nicholas Stoller, talks a pretty good game, but it also hopes you’ll be sufficiently disarmed by its scabrous wit and R-rated, slap-happy sex scenes to forgive — and maybe even love — its final swerve into happily-ever-after uplift. It’s hardly a spoiler to note that Bobby will soon meet the man of his dreams, or that this (yes) sweet, funny and accessible movie means to send them and the viewer home in a good mood.
