By Mr. Will Wong
From Director Nicholas Stoller, who brought us Neighbors and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, comes BROS. Funnyman Billy Eichner, who co-writes, produces and stars here, gets his moment in this groundbreaking LGBTQ+ Rom-Com which completely nails it.
Bobby (Eichner) is a successful Podcast Host and Philanthroper raising funds for an LGBTQ+ Historical Museum. He’s 40 and has never been in love, but meets his match in the striking Aaron (Luke MacFarlane) and while they seem polar opposites there is a definite attraction. Bobby is super-confident and unapologetic, while Aaron still is trying to find himself, stuck in a career he doesn’t love and maybe not quite as overt as Bobby.
The witty jokes never quit here and we found ourselves laughing start to finish, thanks to Eichner‘s fast-thinking introspection. And we love that the Film really explores the nuances in the spectrum of those in the LGBTQ+ community. There is an interesting dichotomy of him supporting the gays, but also being annoyed by them at once. He almost carries the entire weight of the Movie and it soars largely because of him.
Stoller is able to keep the tone hilariously comical, but when Bros decides to go a layer deeper exploring why Bobby has such a tough exterior, we realize this is so much more than just a Rom-Com. Canada’s Macfarlane is a perfect pairing grounding Bobby and at once, exposing his pain points and taking him outside his comfort zone.
I knew I’d like BROS but I didn’t realize how much I would love it. BROS screens at TIFF ’22 as follows:
Fri, Sep 09 IN-PERSON Visa Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre 9:45pm
Sat, Sep 10 IN-PERSON Roy Thomson Hall 12:30pm
Sat, Sep 17 IN-PERSON Scotiabank Theatre Toronto Closed captioning, Descriptive sound 1:00pm
Sat, Sep 17 IN-PERSON Visa Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre 9:30pm
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