Bros by Universal Pictures (2022)
I have never posted a film/movie critique, but I saw this movie earlier in the week, so I thought I would try writing a review of it.
Bros is a romantic comedy about a man named Bobby (played by Billy Eichner) who is not interested in forming any intimate relationships. He has a successful career, is an activist for the LBTQ+ community and his romantic life consists of nothing more than meaningless sexual encounters. Bobby is pessimistic in general, but specifically about falling in love, until he meets Aaron (played by Luke Macfarlane), who has a successful career (which he hates) and is ridculously fit and attractive.
I was glad to see a romantic comedy whose focus was on two gay males. I was disappointed, however, to find the storyline so cliche. It followed the same “formula” as nearly every other mainstream Hollywood romantic comedy: Two people meet, they don’t particularly like each other at first, but there is a clear, but unspoken attraction that neither will admit; they start dating, become vulnerable toward one another and then a conflict–one of them is hiding a secret or cheats on the other one; they have a major argument, split up, vowing never to speak again; they miss each other, admit they were both wrong, realize they were meant for each other and live happily ever after.
Apply this formula to just about any popular romantic comedy and see if it fits. There are some outliers, and those are the movies that I enjoy most. I like to see movies that are more realistic–the couple doesn’t end up together, maybe one of them dies (sorry, too morbid?), whatever it might be. I just get tired of the same thing. Of course, in Bros, the main characters are gay men, which we don’t see very often in mainstream Hollywood, but other than that, it was rather predictable.
The other aspects of contention for me was their looks and careers. Bobby is opening a LGBTQ+ history museum and is regularly in contact with celebreties, he lives in New York, and is attractive. Aaron has a law career, a nice apartment, and as I mentioned earlier, is VERY attractive. Are these characters relatable? Not so much. Believable? No.
On the positive side, there was comedy and there were attractive men. Overall, I would give this movie 2.5 (but since I can’t find a half-star, I’ll be generous and give it 3) out of 5 stars. It was entertaining, and I don’t feel like it was a waste of time or money. If you like most romantic comedies, you’ll probably enjoy this one.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
*This review was written for entertainment value only and is my own opinion. I am not paid by any company or entity.
If you enjoyed this review or found it helpful, please leave a comment below. This is something new I’m trying, so I want to see if it’s something I should continue or not. Thanks for your input!
Brandon Ellrich, Writer/Author/Poet 
I find most of the romantic comedy cliche too – most often following the same routine. The funny moments are fun though.
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Yes, thank you for input. I appreciate it. 🙂
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As a lawyer, I might find that aspect relatable.But there is still a lot of bias in the field (not mine, since I work in civil rights), so it is often less exciting as people make it out to be. And most lawyers don’t have time for a personal life. The other occupation sounds like a reallll stretch. I agree. And of course everyone is good looking. Who wants to watch a movie about ordinary people? Ha, ha! Your critique sounds a lot about what my husband and I say about some of the movies he watches.
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His job was specifically about helping people with writing/revising their wills, so that part, I guess, could be depressing, depending on how you look at it.
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It’s a service. It you need a lawyer, there is almost always a depressing suspect. We are only needed when there is conflict.
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Yes, not everyone is cut out for it.
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I’ve been wondering if this movie was any good, and although your review confirms the predictable nature of the plot, I’ll probably still see it to support films with gay lead characters. Plus, who doesn’t like a happy ending now and again.
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Yeah, I was still entertained by it.
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