“Bros” is the newest film from comedy director Nicholas Stoller (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall’’) and starring its co-writer Billy Eichner (“The Lion King”). It is an LGBTQ rom-com with a lot of heart and a lot of laughs with jokes that many could relate to. The plot of a lonely podcast producer trying to open up a museum and finding love is a fresh concept and a pleasant surprise is this well written
Bobby, played by Eichner, and his love interest Aaron (Luke Macfarlane “Killjoys”) have a really believable connection and a story many could relate to, and their strong comedic acting brings it to life. None of the performances in general seem to fall flat, though sometimes the timing of jokes and character traits are not always shown through the acting, and causes a little disconnect from the story.
Sometimes characters do not feel like themselves by showing abnormal, one note traits. Overall though, they tend to stay consistent throughout. However, the characters can come off as unlikeable, and some are. This is not to say the characters are underwritten. They just need a little more personality.
The comedy is on brand for Stoller and Eichner, though those who do not care for their style of comedy will be a little unimpressed with the film or find it to not be their thing. It tends not to only be very relatable to the whole LGBTQ community, but to audiences in general. There are themes of loneliness and nothing going right and the struggle with both. Similar themes pop up in multiple rom-coms, but these films often come off very silly and do not take themselves too seriously. However, this one completely gets it right.
The cinemetography was also done really well. It is the perfect amount of zest for the storyline. What has to be mentioned is the editing. At times the editing is very sloppy and seems to be glanced over and there are quite a few questionable transitions and choices here and there. There are a lot of cuts and montages that can get a little repetitive. Some of the ways scenes are cut together make no sense from the one before like characters will be in different positions and making different faces. It is rushed.
However, it is lucky that the story and the overall feel of the film is easily distracts the audience from the editing. A good thing about the story is that everything is pieced together. Some of the comedy does not hit or seems a little cheesy, but the writing itself is really great. There is also a lot of community discourse throughout the film and brings it up in a comedic but also respectful way. The film is also not afraid to go all the way with its concepts and not tell any lies, which is a good thing to see as it is not sugar coated and helps the movie be more precise. “Bros” is definitely one of the year’s best rom-coms. It is a perfect get together movie for friends to watch. All the positive talk about the film is all well deserved, and it should be seen by all rom-com fans.
Photo via Universal Pictures via YouTube
