Bros arrived in theaters this weekend with a rom-com unlike any we have seen before. Bros represents a giant step forward for the LBGTQ + community as there is a gay couple at the heart of the story. However, it was never going to matter unless the movie was funny and the story was strong. Fortunately for Bros, it is both funny and strong.

Bobby (Billy Eichner) was a sardonic, sarcastic podcaster who was alone. Billy claimed to enjoy being on his own and resisted any sort of real connection in a relationship, preferring the shallow and unsatisfying ones. Things began to change when he met Aaron (Luke Macfarlane) at a club and became intrigued by the handsome lawyer.

The film then dealt with a series of conflicts between the pairing that threatened to break apart the relationship that had the potential to be great for both of them.

I am going to be fully transparent here. There were some scenes early on in this movie that made me uncomfortable while watching it in the theater. However, as the movie moved on, I was charmed by the two actors and what they were doing with their characters’ relationship. They were remarkably easy to root for and the chemistry between them easily carried chunks of the film.

Eichner and Macfarlane exchanged fire dialogue in both the fun, flirty manner as well as the sharp, biting tone that the second half of the film adopted. The film was extremely well written and gave us two characters who were real people and who exceeded the gay stereotypes that are used in many entertainment projects.

Not only did they avoid the stereotypes, the film had the conflicts that threatened the relationship come from within the two damaged characters instead of leaving it up to some contrived plot point. There was an authentic feel to the story and the characters living in it.

There were some funny moments in the movie, but I did not think it was the funniest movie of the summer, which was a comment that I heard about it. I did laugh several times though and it was an enjoyable watch. It definitely fell into the style of film from Judd Apatow, who was a producer on this. It’s more of a dramedy than anything else. The humor though is very natural and works in the style.

While the first act had some uncomfortable moments for me, it was worth it to get to the second and third acts where these people showed us that romance can be for anyone.

3.7 stars