The mainstream romcom landscape is set to get a major shake-up this year, with the release of comedian Billy Eichner’s Bros. Centred around a podcaster called Bobby (Eichner) who isn’t looking for love, but finds it anyway, Bros is history-making. Not just because it’s a big studio movie about a gay romance, but because every single principal cast member is part of the LGBTQ+ community – yes, even those playing straight characters.
Casting the movie that way is a decision that co-writer and star Eichner was passionate about, and for him, it enhanced the entire filmmaking process. “It felt like the right thing to do ethically, and creatively it adds something that’s hard to articulate,” he tells Empire. “To look around and know we’re making this historic movie and that all of us are representing the entire community… it was really fucking magical.” The debate over whether heterosexual actors should portray queer characters is a well-worn one. “In theory, I have no problem with straight actors playing gay if they’re worthy of the role,” Eichner weighs in. “But shouldn’t gay actors get to play our own characters? Can anybody flesh out an LGBTQ+ character like an LGBTQ+ actor?”
Ensuring Bros accurately depicts gay dating and the LGBTQ+ community in its narrative, as well as its cast, was also key for Eichner when it came to writing the script. As his character Bobby exclaims in the trailer, gay and straight romance does not look the same (“Our friendships are different! Our sex lives are different! Our relationships are different!”), and so Bros needed to set itself apart. “As much as I love When Harry Met Sally, you can’t make When Harry Met Sally that just happens to star two men,” Eichner explains. “Because gay dating is not the same… We have our own rules and types of relationship, which can be very quote-unquote ‘heteronormative’ or they can be very unconventional… It has to be as warm and funny as those classic romantic comedies, but it has to be authentic to the gay experience."
Bros is in cinemas from 28 October.