In September last year, the latest directorial effort from the talented Nicholas Stoller was released to little fanfare, ultimately grossing just under $15 million against a budget of $22 million, despite a strong critical response. I remember having seen the trailer prior to its release and being impressed by its potential to break rom-com convention for an underrepresented group of people, but even with the glowing reviews, I had not expected such a revelation for the genre, having cult classic written all over it. However, I believe its commercial failure can largely be chalked down to an odd release window that fell on neither Valentine’s nor pride month, and with that said there is no better time to appreciate this underrated gem.
From early on it is clear that Bros is a vehicle for granting a voice to the numerous denominations of the LGBTQ+ community, with its lead character, Bobby (played by the movie’s co-writer Billy Eichner), being a podcaster who has been chosen to lead the creation of a museum dedicated to LGBTQ+ history, working with a panel of various genders and sexualities that frequently but hilariously clash with one another. The movie is unabashed in its normalization of rom-com tropes that are conventionally between a heterosexual couple while offering thoughtful commentary on how Hollywood can often be more concerned with pseudo-representation than actually challenging the stereotyping of gay characters. Disney somehow manages to drop that ball again and again.
In this regard, special credit must go to the casting and performance of Canada’s own Luke Macfarlane, who is a revelation in Bros as Bobby’s love interest, Aaron.
Macfarlane is likely best known to audiences from the Canadian science fiction show Killjoys where he played one of the three lead characters, or perhaps the drama series Brothers & Sisters, in which he starred during its entire five-season run, being promoted to the main cast from season three onwards. What’s most interesting, though, is his extensive list of roles in Hallmark productions, having featured in as many as fourteen since 2015, according to IMDb. Of course, this number becomes less shocking when you remember that the entire purpose of Hallmark’s business model is to churn out as much content as they can for little money as possible while still making them look expensive. As such, while the Hallmark Channel certainly has an audience, at the risk of sounding like a film snob, their movies are known for being low-brow schlock at best. Hardly where the most notable talents go.
This is not to knock Macfarlane’s career prior to 2022 whatsoever, I just feel that after the performance he delivered in Bros, it is safe to say that his talents have been somewhat wasted prior to what could be a career breakout for him. The initial brilliance of it is director Nicholas Stoller’s casting of Macfarlane, who is able to outwardly convey the “pretty-boy jock” stereotype as intended, but with the nuance that makes it only a veneer masking his true depth as a character. It’s one of the many pitfalls that Eicher and Stoller manage to avoid when characterizing Aaron in their screenplay, consequently aided by Stoller’s deft direction and Macfarlane’s nuanced performance.
While Eichner’s Bobby has his own relatable insecurities, he is very much at peace with who he is as a person, warts and all, while Macfarlane’s Aaron is still trying to find his own purpose and place, which conflicts with the confident “bro” image he projects. Even one of Bobby’s earliest lines spoken to Aaron is “So, I hear you’re boring.” Awkward flirting aside, little did Bobby know, but he was playing right into his love interest’s own insecurities, and it is something Aaron struggles with throughout, while neither believes they are good enough for the other, making for some well-measured will-they, won’t-they.
Bobby is undoubtedly compelling, encapsulated best by a magnetic speech he delivers while vacationing on a beach in one scene, it is Macfarlane’s Aaron who breaks the chains of stereotype, even by heteronormative rom-com standards, to deliver one of the best romantic interests I have encountered in quite some time.