FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/bros-spoiler-free-review-lff-2022 "Bros is a genuine, authentic, insanely hilarious breath of fresh air. Clever satirical comedy rips out loud back-to-back laughs throughout the entire runtime without ever causing viewers to lose their ear-to-ear smile. Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane share more chemistry than hundreds of leads in as many rom-coms. It doesn't shy away from the familiar formulas and cliches of the genre, but it contains a compelling romance and a truly interesting story, paying homage to the LGTBQ+ community along the way. One of the best films of the year!" Rating: A-

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As a man who really struggles with romcoms at the best of times, I was rather nervous about this. Actually, though, it steers clear of some (though not all) of the gay stereotypes and presents us with a genuinely quite funny love story about two forty-somethings who meet in a nightclub. One, "Bobby" (Billy Eichner) is a ordinary looking, gobby podcaster and activist who is trying to raise the money needed for an American National LGBTQ+ museum. The other is "Aaron" (Luke Macfarlane) - a lawyer who spends a fair amount of time on the cross-fit. They wouldn't appear to be the most natural of fits but a series of brief encounters on their opening night coupled with a fair degree of sarcasm and a kiss sets the tone for what happens next. Certainly, anyone who has a Dekkoo subscription will have seen the format before - and often, and this doesn't really vary the theme much. What does make this different is the characters have much more depth. Their relationship is never going to be straightforward and though sometimes delivered via annoyingly angry monologues, the character of "Bobby" makes some fairly profound and well reasoned arguments about the constraints history has imposed on people of differing sexualities over the years. Eichner is effective as a man who uses his sharp and pithy tongue to prove the best form of defence is attack, Macfarlane proves to be far more than the man with the muscle, and the writing from the former and director Nicholas Stoller clearly demonstrates that both men have skin in this particular game. Experience has clearly informed and fuelled this creative process. It can be a bit hit or miss, especially the third quarter when it all becomes a bit contrived, but the ending redeems it rather - if only for the pure schmaltz of the serenade - and I rather enjoyed it. It sure doesn't need a cinema screening, but it is entertainingly provocative at times. The BBFC slide at the top warned of "strong sex". Clearly they have never watched "Theo and Hugo" (2016) because there is nothing at all visual in this that could conceivably cause offence; even the language is comparatively mild.

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I'll be honest, I'm not Gay and I did not watch this movie. But, it's not because I'm straight that I didn't watch it, it's not because Rom-Coms aren't something that appeals to be to start with and Gay Rom-Coms appeal even less to me than straight Rom-Coms. No, I didn't watch this because I didn't want another lecture and i didn't want to support another lecture. And to the utter surprise of absolutely no one, we got the inevitable lecture, we were told once again how absolutely evil all straight white males are because they are straight white and male, rather than being another race, female, or Gay. Pro-Tip Hollywood, if you want to make movies that people pay to see, don't make movies that people are going to take one look at and think: "This is going to scream at me about how evil I am nonstop," and then scream at them nonstop for not watching it. Right now, anything "Gay" should be a no fly zone, not because straight people and white people are evil... but because it comes with the guarantee that it's going to insult the audiance and then the creators are going to insult the audiance.

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