Bros is a 2022 romantic comedy film directed by Nicholas Stoller from a screenplay he co-wrote with Billy Eichner, who also stars and executive produces. Stoller and Judd Apatow are producers of the film. Stoller has quite the resume in the world of comedy, having previously directed Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), Get Him to the Greek (2010) (which he also wrote), and Neighbors (2014). Bros had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2022.

Bobby Lieber, an "out and proud but also scared and self-doubting" New York museum curator, is hired to write a romantic comedy about a gay couple. Along the way, he meets—and eventually falls in love with—Aaron, a "macho" lawyer.

The cast includes Billy Eichner, Luke Macfarlane, Bowen Yang, Guy Branum, Harvey Fierstein, Ts Madison, Dot-Marie Jones, Monica Raymund, Eve Lindley, Guillermo Díaz, Amanda Bearse, Miss Lawrence, Ryan Faucett, and Jim Rash.

Bros made its debut in theaters on September 30th, courtesy of Universal Pictures.

THE GOOD

Once I hear the name Judd Apatow, I am already reaching for my debit card ready to buy a ticket. The guy does not miss in my mind and is the man when it comes to comedies with substance and a real story you can get behind. Granted he is only attached to the project as a producer, but his name means something in the business. After watching the initial trailer for the movie I was genuinely excited, it just felt like an Apatow movie. And after the incredibly positive feedback from earlier screenings, I was all in. Plus, life is hard sometimes so we need to jump at the opportunity to escape for around two hours by seeing a comedy like Bros in theaters. So, does it do the Apatow name justice or fail to meet expectations? Keep reading to find out!

I had a ton of fun with this movie, and I can say without a doubt it met my expectations. Once again Judd Apatow’s name is worth its weight in gold. I laughed out loud a ton, but more than anything else I had a really good time from start to finish, and the movie absolutely flew by. I will say right out of the gate Bros will likely divide audiences which I will talk about later in the review, but I thought it was hilarious, well-intentioned, and just an enjoyable escape to Provincetown (a gay reference, obviously). I really enjoyed the characters and all of their erratic personalities and felt like the story was intriguing enough to get me invested even though it was formulaic and fairly predictable as are most romantic comedies, although I think that may have been the point. I really liked the New York setting, although it was filmed in New Jersey. I also liked the references to Hallmark movies and the Hallmark Channel in general which my wife is next-level obsessed with. Star Luke Macfarlane, a straight man in real-life, actually got his start in Hallmark movies although my wife isn’t sure if she has seen any of them. The film is packed full of great one-liners, a surprising amount of depth when it comes to navigating relationships, and the undeniable fact that men will do anything to avoid talking about anything emotional with each other, and this is regardless of sexual preference.

I thought the writing was fantastic and without a doubt the primary reason why Bros is getting so much praise from critics. Director Nicholas Stoller co-wrote the screenplay with star Billy Eichner, a very openly gay comedian and New York native who seemingly plays himself in the movie. Stoller is extremely talented when it comes to putting together a quality story for a comedy, and love him or hate him Eichner plays to his strengths here and essentially adds his own level of expertise when it comes to the subject matter of the film. Bros perfectly mocks all sexual orientations, from straight, to bisexual, to transexual, but it especially rips gay people in hilarious fashion. I know women often feel like they are getting looked at like they are nothing more than a piece of meat, but I have visited gay clubs before (long story) and I have never been more uncomfortable, so I get it. Gay people have no filter, absolutely LOVE to party and hit the club scene, and they really are hilarious more often than not.

Bottom line, all of the funniest comedians are great at making fun of themselves, which allows for infinite material as they tend to refer to their own personal experiences. This felt like an opportunity for Eichner to mock the absolutely ridiculous world of gay men, from Tinder to Grindr, and to point out why the perception of gay men is often all wrong. Also, the portrayal of what Tinder is like is pretty spot on (I had a short and fairly successful run myself), but I will say that the ladies are far less aggressive than the men. Not to say I didn’t have a scenario or two where a very aggressive female asked to include their boyfriend 5-minutes before I left to meet her, but that is ancient history. Spoiler alert, I stayed home. But seriously, Bros makes fun of literally everything. Men of all sexual orientations, lack of commitment, meathead guys and working out in general (specifically CrossFit which I thought was hilarious), and anything and everything that has to do with how uncomfortable dating can be. The bread and butter of Bros is the mocking of pretty much every stereotype you can think of, and in my mind, that is a big part of what makes it so damn funny.

I touched on it briefly but I thought the cast was great. Eichner is perfect in his role, although he is annoying at times but that is likely by design. He often mocks straight men playing gay men in movies, and I can say without a doubt that he was able to become this character because as I mentioned, it is basically him in real life. I really liked Luke Macfarlane and thought the chemistry he had with Eichner was perfect. I assume a straight man playing a gay man, alongside a gay man basically playing himself, is not easy and probably uncomfortable at times, but he was great. The relationship between the two felt genuine, which allowed the story, as predictable as it was, to hold that much more weight. I honestly enjoyed the majority of the supporting cast, especially Guy Branum as that token friend you go out to bars with, but my favorite supporting character even though he had limited screen-time was Oscar-winning actor Jim Rash. He was hilarious during the constant back-and-forth bickering as he played the “underappreciated” bisexual man, and this role was just perfect for him. I won’t go too in-depth on the supporting cast as the leads definitely steal the show, but I thought everyone did a great job. Dot-Marie Jones crushed it as the no-filter lesbian of the group, and one scene in particular towards the end of the film was just perfect. Plus, Will & Grace star Debra Messing playing herself was just glorious. And lastly, I just have to give a shout-out to director Nicholas Stoller who continues to serve up hilarious content.

THE BAD

I mean, the reality is Bros is not for everyone. If you have any sensitivity at all to sexual situations involving gay men, you better steer clear. If you are homophobic, I wouldn’t even drive by the theater while the movie is playing. Am I being a bit ridiculous? Sure, but this movie does not hold back although to be fair you get more full-frontal male nudity in Game of Thrones. The majority of what you will see is fairly classy I guess you could say, most of the “hardcore” sexual nature of the film takes place off-screen or makes viewers use their imagination. But if you are uncomfortable with half-naked men who can’t seem to keep their hands off each other, this will be a difficult watch. I don’t want to go down this rabbit hole too deep, but I find it interesting how fired up people are getting about this movie.

First, you have the homophobic demographic who had zero interest in seeing the movie from the start, then after the movie bombed at the box office opening weekend, you have comedian and star Billy Eichner basically calling out straight people on Twitter for refusing to see the movie, and more or less accusing them of being homophobic. Now listen Billy, you were great in the movie but you do essentially portray the cocky persona you have on social media (and seemingly in real life), and calling out straight people is not a good way to get butts in the seats, pun intended. People saying that seeing a romantic comedy about gay people would be weird for a straight couple are idiots because for one I tried to get my wife to see it with me (sort of glad she didn’t because she would have been drooling over Macfarlane) but she was willing to, and I know for a fact that Andrew and his girlfriend were hoping to (and likely will) see it together.

Am I more comfortable with my sexual orientation than most? Can I appreciate a movie for what it is and ignore the BS surrounding it? Honestly, at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter. In the era of social media basically running our lives people just like to get angry about things just to add meaning to their mundane existence, and sorry to say but Billy is playing right into the hands of these idiots (and by idiots I am referring to all sexual orientations, for the record). If they can keep this guy off social media for a few weeks and people stop pissing and moaning for a change, I think Bros will end up doing just fine at the box office.

THE VERDICT

Taking every opportunity to mock all sexual orientations equally while providing a ton of laughs along the way, Bros is a very well-written romantic comedy that plays to the strengths of its leading men while offering a surprisingly relatable albeit predictable story. The more I think about this movie, the more I appreciate the writing and all of the little details. As funny as it is, the ability to hang on to a story that has genuine substance in the face of rom-com predictability is an achievement. But again, are we really that surprised considering Judd Apatow’s involvement?

Do you need to sign a waiver saying you are comfortable with your sexuality before seeing the movie? Absolutely not, but if you are narrow-minded or homophobic it will be difficult to watch (refer to the “bad” section). But listen, two older ladies who were easily in their late 60s were in the theater and they had a blast, and I don’t need to tell you how things were “back in their day”. Bombing at the box office opening weekend has been a big topic and I do believe that releasing during horror movie season and not let’s say Valentine’s Day was a weird decision, but if you can ignore the noise and appreciate this movie for what it is, Bros is absolutely worth seeing in theaters and I may even see it a second time.