BrosMovie is, astonishingly, the very first big-studio, mainstream, gay-themed romantic comedy. 'We need it. A lot of the mainstream LGBTQ+ content historically has really had to tiptoe around the truth of our lives.'
Written by Billy Eichner and Nicholas Stoller, and starring Eichner and Luke Macfarlane as mismatched lovers,"Bros" is, astonishingly, the very first big-studio, mainstream, gay-themed romantic comedy.
It was a long time coming. Eichner, who recently visited San Francisco alongside Macfarlane to discuss the movie, says"We need it. A lot of the mainstream LGBTQ+ content historically has really had to tiptoe around the truth of our lives." "People are getting that classic romantic comedy," he continues,"that classic Judd Apatow movie that they like, that has a certain structure, has certain things you expect, but on another level, it's unlike anything you've ever seen." The movie was born when Stoller , whom Eichner describes as"living a very heteronormative lifestyle," approached him about writing a gay-themed romantic comedy screenplay together. "But then he said, 'I'm not gay. Do you want to write it with me, and if all goes well, you can star in it, and I'll direct it?'" he says. Apatow was also likely to come aboard as a producer, since he and Stoller had worked together many times, making it a very attractive offer. Eichner — best known for his series"Billy on the Street" and for his hilarious voice work as Timon in"The Lion King" remake — was interested, but had no idea what kind of movie to write. LGBTQ+ sketch comedy show 'Mighty Real' returns to S.F. Real talk, San Francisco — when's the last time you had a good laugh? He explained to Stoller that they couldn't just take"When Harry Met Sally" — of which Eichner is a big fan — and slip two gay characters into the same story. "The rules of gay relationships, the nuances, the specifics of it, are just different," he says."But that's what makes it exciting and fresh for people, especially straight people who maybe think they know how gay men operate because they've seen some wacky gay characters on sitcoms." Eventually a simple approach was agreed upon."We just said, 'Let's make the funniest movie we can, and let's keep it honest.'" Eichner says. So they came up with the story of Bobby , who is attempting to open the very first LGBTQ+ museum in Los Angeles, and Aaron , a handsome lawyer in charge of wills who dreams of making chocolates. Both men are happy being single, and are alarmed when they discover that they love spending time together. The filmmakers agreed upon the notion that the entire cast should be members of the LGBTQ+ community, or, in the case of a few well-placed guest stars, allies of the community. For example, Amanda Bearse, best known as Marcy on the classic series"Married... with Children," plays Aaron's mother. Aside from acting, she was one of the earliest directors in television who openly identified as lesbian, helming over 30 episodes of that show, as well as many other well-known shows. "She was the first woman to come out on prime time TV, before Ellen, before Rosie. That's bold," says Eichner."We tend to forget about those early groundbreakers, who really were in such a challenging environment in Hollywood at the time. Harvey Fierstein too, obviously. I love that we go from Harvey to Bowen Yang. That's the story of openly gay Hollywood." Peskin apologizes for comments about trans candidate "I acknowledge my poor choice of words and have been in touch with community members, including Honey Mahogany." Mahogany said she'd been treated worse by the queens on RuPaul's Drag Race. Another idea the filmmakers hit upon is in the title, which has several meanings. One is the concept that gay men are also men, struggling with the same things that men of all identities struggle with. "I think there's an idea that gay men are basically women, you know?" he says."But underneath, emotionally, many of us have those classic American male hang-ups. So picture that, times two, trying to date each other. That's what makes it so funny, and also complicated." Macfarlane explains another one of them meanings of the title"Bros," in that his character has a literal brother, who is having trouble with his heterosexual partner, just as Aaron is having trouble with Bobby. "My relationship with my brother in the movie kinda reflects the difficulty of two men talking to each other," says Macfarlane."He's going through a really hard time. I'm going through a really hard time. And finally when we let our guards down, it gives me the courage to go do the thing that I really need to do." So, in essence, much of the movie is really about the human dance: trying to find the balance between trust and truth; how to drop your guard and show one's true selves and risk getting hurt; or keeping up your guard and remaining emotionally distant. Eichner says,"The more you love each other, the more you're scared that maybe the other person will change their mind."Yet another angle on the"Bros" title has to do with body image . Macfarlane says,"I love hanging out with my sister's male friends, 'Dude... what's your workout? Like, what do you do?' So fascinated about bodies." "There's a lot of talk, culturally, as there should be, about female body image and the issues that women face, but I would argue that men have just as many issues with it internally. But being men, we don't wanna be vulnerable and talk about that," Eichner says. "That is really something you experience in the gay male community," he continues."I've been sucked into it myself. And... it's complicated. It's so ingrained in us. So 'Bros' is a lot about bodies." So while the actors, as well as their director, Stoller, love the title, there's trouble in paradise when it comes to the international translations."Sadly, when the Quebecois version comes out, it's called 'Chums,'" adds Macfarlane.Written by Billy Eichner, Nicholas StollerPlace a free digital obituaryWe provide a free service for you to honor your loved ones. 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