Although I'm not a big Billy Eichner fan, I was eager to see, and we didn't hate, this story about a commitment-averse "Cis White Gay Man" embarking on a relationship with another of the same description, played by Luke Macfarlane, in a send-up of Hallmark movies (here called Hallheart) and most every Meg Ryan movie.
The term Cis White Gay Man is a line in the script, co-written by Eichner and director Nicholas Stoller. Recently I had to explain to one of my readers the definition of cis, so read this if you need to.
Marc Shaiman's short and Hallmark-y score can be found on Apple Music, but some of those songs are included on this longer list of enjoyable hits from the soundtrack.
Earlier this year we saw, and liked Fire Island, also a rom-com about cis white gay men finding love, so I've been distressed to read many declarations that Bros is the first major motion picture all about gay men, or words to that effect. Apparently the distinction is that Fire Island, a Searchlight production, went straight to Hulu, and Bros, a Universal Pictures joint, was in theatres before streaming (and credits the powerhouse Judd Apatow as one of its producers). Hmph.
At one point, when the main characters are arguing, Macfarlane calls Eichner "relentless," which may describe why I sometimes don't love Eichner's loud-talking characters, such as in the serieses Billy on the Street and Difficult People, neither of which I could get through. I've also seen him in 16 episodes of Parks and Recreation and eight of Friends from College, but I liked those.
Macfarlane is best known to me as Scotty in 89 episodes of Brothers & Sisters. Stoller was last blogged for co-writing The Muppets after writing and directing Get Him to the Greek and Shaiman is profiled in Mary Poppins Returns.
Rotten Tomatoes' critics' and audiences' averages are a familial 88 and 90%, respectively. Not for the whole family, though. It has a hard (you should excuse the expression) R rating. We watched it on Apple TV November 2.
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