Film Review: Bros
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Auteur theory was originally defined as a theory of filmmaking in which the director is viewed as the major creative force in a motion picture. With television, the theory gained a new wrinkle to recognize writers or showrunners whose imprint on the show was evident. Well, we can certainly begin to apply that term to writer/actors because Billy Eichner, who rose to great prominence with his Billy of the Street and Difficult People tv shows, is a great example of what it means to be a major creative force. So much of his essence as a writer and performer drives the film and as such, Bros gets to exhibit his acerbic sense of humor, unapologetic loudness, and meaningful heart.
Now that fancy jargon is out of the way, we can get down to simpler tasks. Bros tells the story of two commitment-phobic men, one an estate layer and one the head curator for the LGBTQ history museum. After having a chance meeting at a club, the two men begin to hang out and quickly realize there’s chemistry there. That or they’re just horny. But they make a non-commited go of it engaging in hijinks from orgies to slap fights, dealing with gay high school teammates and parental vists, and perhaps most scandalous of all: figuring out that maybe having real feelings isn’t all that bad.
Right off the bat, the best selling point for this movie is the amazing leads. The chemistry between the two men is undeniable. Luke Macfarlane, whom I have loved since Brothers and Sisters, is great as the “straight” man to Eichner’s much more brash Bobby. Both characters fit these men like a glove and they both manage to wring every possible drop from their characters.
Bros is very upfront and loud about everything it is attempting to do, which is both refreshing and grating in equal measure. It is admirable that this movie approaches its storytelling with the raunch of any other R-rated comedy and does not shy away once from being as gay as possible. Eichner’s script zings as it props up, showcases, and takes down its subjects and subject matter. No one is spared from his tongue (least of all the men his character hooks up with). The movie is also manages to contain a lot of really heartfelt moments done in some fun ways and Nicholas Stoller’s direction is particularly sharp (the staging of some of the more crazy scenes is so much fun).
When Bros stumbles though, it does so in ways that grind the movie to a temporary halt. I may have buried the lede with not mentioning that Judd Apatow is a producer on this and even though he is not directing or writing this picture, the editing issues that plague his movies also affect this one. There is some very sloppy editing during conversations that almost threatened to derail several important moments and for a comedy with a seemingly breakneck pace, the movie does lose a bit of momentum in the latter part of the 2nd act.
Further more, both the characters in Bros and the film itself can’t modulate their volume. Queer stories are often stuck between a rock and a hard place in that they are allowed to be as preachy and thematically didactic as any other film but get dinged more for this. Bros tries its best not get out of character but there are ample moments in this film that feel hollow because the script does not take time for meaningful reflection or to dial back. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with characters wanting to and getting to be unapologetic, but it can often feel overbearing when those characters don’t truly wrestle with the full range of their emotions. Bros missed some opportunities to really let its characters wrestle with some poor decisions and as such the movie does suffer a bit because while it is yelling about doing the work, it often times is not.
However, the movie is on such solid footing by the time the issues arise, that it is able to right itself and land the plane the way it needed to be landed. Bros is a genuinely good time at the movies and hopefully a welcome step in the right direction towards more varied protagonists in studio pictures.
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