“Bros,” which opens this week and stars Billy Eichner, has earned the much-ballyhooed distinction of being the “first gay rom-com from a major studio.”
and too many others to name—that has flourished outside the Hollywood studio system and its bread-and-butter genres.
“Bros” is nothing if not aware of all that thorny context, political and cultural, and treats it with irreverent bite. Eichner, whose man-on-the-street videos established him as a world-class screamer, is an ideal guide to the contradictions of white gayness in 2022.
“We never saw this as a niche or marginal kind of movie,” Michael Moses, Universal’s chief marketing officer, told me last week. The marketing for “Bros,” he said, is “both catered to L.G.B.T.Q. communities but also signalling to a mainstream audience that the intention of this is to be broad and welcoming.” Rather than gay movies like “The Birdcage,” Moses pointed to another Apatow project, “Bridesmaids,” as a precedent.
As much as “Bros” places itself in the tradition of classic rom-coms, Moses pointed out that the rom-com itself isn’t exactly in its heyday, at least on the big screen. “Put the ‘gay’ qualifier to the side for a moment,” he told me. “The rom-com genre has largely migrated to the streamers, and so that’s actually, I think, the bigger thing to overcome in a lot of ways, bringing a rom-com out in a muscular way. The gay spin actually gives it definition and purpose and personality.
With all those variables, it would be wrong to think of this weekend’s box-office as a test of how much America really likes gays, or gay movies, or gay movies in movie theatres, though the results will inevitably be interpreted as such. Think of it more as one cantankerous voice in the muddle that is gay identity today—pulled, as ever, between pride and prejudice—and as a point of evolution in a genre that it winkingly deconstructs from the inside. If “Bros” is a test of anything, it’s empathy.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
High school football: Brennan 41, O’Connor 6The Bears built an early 14-0 lead and went on to their fourth straight victory.
Read more »
Colts' Shaquille Leonard responds to fan criticism: 'If I'm able to play, I'll be out there'Colts LB Shaquille Leonard has seen the criticism and he has a message: 'If I'm ready to go, I'm going to play.'
Read more »
Washington residents travel to Florida to help displaced residents find shelter during Hurricane Ian'Some of these people are going to be in shelters for six months or longer.”
Read more »
'Blade Runner: Black Lotus' & More Anime Originals Pulled From Adult Swim'Blade Runner: Black Lotus', 'Fena: Pirate Princess', & more anime originals have been removed from the Adult Swim website.
Read more »
What you need to know about the first gay-themed romcomBrosMovie 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.'
Read more »
Adam Levine and wife Behati Prinsloo fly to Las Vegas together amid cheating scandalAdam Levine was seen going on a couple's getaway with his pregnant wife Behati Prinsloo, after being accused of cheating on her with model Sumner Stroh.
Read more »