Bros just hit UK cinemas today, and having seen it a couple of times already, I can say I think it's BRILLIANT. The movie is as funny as it is romantic, and features a ton of pop culture references and jokes as only a gay movie could!
To find out more about some of the iconic references and funniest moments, we sat down with leads Billy Eichner (who plays Bobby) and Luke Macfarlane (who plays Aaron). Here's what they had to say about these iconic Bros scenes...
Bobby's radio show/podcast The Eleventh Brick at Stonewall, and the entire opening scene of him talking about a white gay man hypothetically being the ~eleventh~ person to throw a brick during the Stonewall Riots.
Billy: "We thought that name was funny, and also a way to acknowledge the cis white gay male experience at Stonewall. It's not written in "stone", but I think it’s generally acknowledged that Stonewall was a riot started by trans women of colour, so that was our way of conveying that reality."
Luke: "There are three times in the movie where Bobby is specifically aware of his cis white male privilege. I remember thinking, maybe you don't need to say this so many times, but Billy is very smart – he absolutely did need to say it that many times just so the audience knew he was aware he had privilege!"
And when Kristin Chenoweth came out at an LGBTQ awards ceremony wearing a massive rainbow dress and a Stonewall-themed hat.
Billy: "We basically said, we want you to do this, but here's what you have to wear. She's great, I know Kristin a little bit, and we wanted someone who would instantly read as a gay icon. Of course she has a huge following amongst straight people, but she has this specific brand that's associated with Broadway and with Wicked – two very gay things! Also, she’s just so damn funny – she was perfect for that moment!"
When Aaron revealed to Bobby that he was obsessed with "tiny little pretty chocolates" growing up, and secretly wanted to be a chocolatier.
Billy: "That whole thing actually came from Nick Stoller who I wrote the movie with and who directed it."
Luke: "The first version I read it wasn’t chocolates, it was flowers, which funny but not as weird."
Billy: "Yeah, it wasn't as specific as chocolates. Aaron liked the way they were wrapped as a kid, and also the size of them compared to him was funny to me. He's like this big dude who presents to the world as buff and ripped and strong, but secretly he like these little delicate things. It was also just funny to say!"
Just all of the jokes about Grindr and Grindr "etiquette".
Billy: "We were just trying to make a movie that was honest and funny – honest was just as important as funny to us! I can only speak to my experiences as a gay man, and the experiences of my friends, and hooking up is a part of that. I'm generalising here, but gay men tend to be more sexually liberated, and we very easily compartmentalise sex versus love and relationships. I do think those types of hook-ups do get old though. There comes a point in Bobby's life where he wants more than that, but he struggles to admit it."
Luke: "I think it's also really important to clarify that these are not straight people. I think if you type into Google "Grindr", the next thing that autofills in "for straight people". It is very a different experience for us. I'm not personally on Grindr, but I have been in the past."
Billy: "When are you Googling Grindr though? He's not on Grindr but likes to know about it, when was it founded, that sort of thing."
Every scene that parodies Queer Eye and the Queer Eye mentors.
Billy: "It's funny, Bobby came to our LA premiere, and obviously Jai Rodriguez is one of the original Queer Eye guys. For me, when I think of Queer Eye, I think of the original one, which for its time was revolutionary. That was the most gay men you'd ever seen in one place on American TV. They weren't tragic, it wasn't about them being in the closet, it was open and joyful and celebratory. That was really radical for its time, even though it wasn't that long ago.
Also, the way Bobby processes Queer Eye at one point in the movie versus later on is indicative of the emotional journey he's on. At the beginning, he's really too cynical to give in to the feel-good nature of it, but when Aaron opens him up–
(Cue a lot of laughter).
I mean, figuratively speaking... His vulnerability comes to the surface more and his reaction to the show changes."
Luke: "I can also relate to early Bobby's reaction to the show, because it was a show that all my straight friends used to access gay culture. I was both appreciative of that, but also felt like, we do more than haircuts and clothes, y'know? Saying that, we all have to start somewhere and they were massively important!"
The outrageous sex scenes, including Bobby and Aaron's "aggressive" first time, and the impromptu foursome between them, Josh, and Steve at the Christmas party.
Billy: "That was fun. You get past the initial awkwardness, and then you just kind of dive in. There are a bunch of different sex scenes and they all serve a different purpose – that first one was just there to be explosively funny. Both of these guys are trying so hard to be tough and to not be vulnerable. They initially have a sexual relationship and that evolves over time into something romantic and emotional. It was interesting using the sex scenes over time to track that story."
Luke: "The four-way scene was actually shot near the end of filming and we were just exhausted by that point. I remember feeling sweaty and exhausted and it was honestly very tough!"
Billy: "Yeah, we didn't think that we'd gotten that one right. We almost cut it out of the movie, but then we showed it and people loved it. People loved Steve! I think so many of us have been that character at different times in our lives, and also Brock Ciarlelli is just hilarious. That scene was in there for comedy, but it speaks to a plot point in the movie too – whether Bobby is confident enough to be in a relationship with Aaron or not."
All of the references to Garth Brooks and his music.
Luke: "Well, that appreciation from my character is real to me too. First of all, he reminds me of my childhood and makes me think of my dad. Secondly – his songs are really earnest and sweet- they're sort of unapologetically happy! I once watched this documentary about him, and I really liked how he came across. I respect his value system a lot, he's very dedicated to his ideas, which is not unlike Bobby or Billy!"
Billy: "We live in a very cynical world and those country ballads are very earnest. My character is super cynical too, so part of showing how he comes around to being more open with his feelings is for him to express them in a Garth Brooks style song."
Speaking of – when Bobby sings a song he wrote for Aaron to him at the opening of the LGBTQ history museum.
Billy: "I did write the song! Well, it was co-written with and arranged by Marc Shaiman. He's a legendary composer who did the score for When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in Seattle and The American President, and a million other amazing movies. He's a seven time Oscar nominee, I think, and he actually showed up to play for us on set. He even brought with him – because he's Marc Shaiman – one of Garth Brooks' former guitarists. He's playing on the song when I sing it."
Luke: "Yeah! I remember seeing him on set and asking him why he was there. He just said, "Billy wrote a song". I was like, what?! Billy actually wrote the song during filming, which is amazing. I thought it was incredible, he had so much on his hands!"
All of the references of Meg Ryan and Meg Ryan movies!
Billy: "I love those Nora Ephron movies, they were part of the inspiration for Bros. I love how urbane and witty the characters could be – even when they were in childish situations, they were still adults. There was a certain type of sophistication to those films, in addition to them looking good and being set in New York."
Luke: "Yeah, I think the New York part is super important to those movies."
Billy: "But I knew you couldn't do You've Got Mail and swap the characters out for two men and have that feel authentic to the gay male experience. What we were trying to do was show the unique particulars of gay life, and being a single gay man in 2022, but also put it in this Nora Ephron style glow! We wanted to give it that comforting feeling because there's no reason it shouldn't have that."
When Debra Messing showed up as herself for a museum tour, and then yelled at Bobby for oversharing about Aaron with her.
Billy: "I have a show I do called Billy on the Street, and she'd been a guest on it a couple of times. We always have a really fun time together! I was kind of gently spoofing her persona with that scene, and she loved it. I remember we sent her the script and she said she's never been able to curse on camera, so this gave her an opportunity to vent and turn the public image of her on its head. She was so excited do it and it ended up being so funny!"
Luke: "It's meta for you too because people assume that Billy on the Street is who Billy is, but he's not just that guy you see on that show. We all struggle with that, I guess."
Billy: "Yeah, anyone who's fortunate enough to become known for one particular persona is always fighting to be seen as more, and then frustrated if they can't be. Debra's done a million things since Will & Grace, but we still associate her with that show. It was so fun to see her let go!"
And when Bowen Yang appeared as a wealthy, only slightly bonkers investor who Bobby has to persuade to invest in the museum.
Billy: "We knew we needed a hilarious actor because it's only one scene, but it's a big character, so we needed someone who could deliver. We love Bowen so much, I think he's so funny and he had the right energy for it. It was scripted, but when he was on set he was throwing out jokes and adding things. I think there's a much longer version of that scene somewhere!
He kills in the movie, he's so funny, and the audiences have been so happy to see him. He's really emblematic of this new wave of openly LGBTQ comedians and comic actors who are getting all of these amazing opportunities, and it's long overdue."
Luke: "I could've watched him for ages! There're a lots of takes of him dressing up his little dogs. That's in the movie a bit, but there was another dog who didn’t make the cut. And that dog was so cute!"
Finally, I had to ask if there will be a Bros 2, and which other gay icons Billy and Luke would love to see in it!
Billy: "I don't know if there will be a Bros 2 – it took us so long to make this first one!"
Luke: "We'd be very old!"
Billy: "I know, Old Bros, that's what we'll call it. But which gay icons… Ian McKellen? Maybe we're in a throuple with Sir Ian?"
Luke: "Oh my God, that would be amazing."
Billy: "What's better than that? I mean, there's so many people we'd love to include."
Luke: "Elton John – he'd write the song this time."
Billy: "Yeah!"
Luke: "Only Sirs, apparently."
Billy: "Yeah, you have to be knighted to be in Bros 2!"
