Billy Eichner On ‘Bros’ & Makg History Wh His Gay Rom-Com – Hollywood Life

Contents:

• ‘BROS’ STAR LE MACFARLANE TALKS MASCULY AND GAY INTY
• THE ENTIRE CAST OF BILLY EICHNER’S GAY ROM-COM ‘BROS’ IS LGBTQ+
• 'BROS' STARS SAY 'S TIME FOR STRAIGHT PEOPLE TO ENJOY A GAY ROM
• LE MACFARLANE ‘BROS’: THE HOTTT MOVIE STAR OF THE YEAR IS A GAY MAN. FALLY!
• ‘BROS’ ISN’T AAID TO ADM THE (VERY ANNOYG) TTH ABOUT GAY MEN
• ‘BROS’ STAR BILLY EICHNER BLAM STRAIGHT PEOPLE FOR GAY ROM-’S BOX OFFICE WO
• BROS: MEET THE CAST OF BILLY EICHNER'S HISTORIC GAY ROM-COM
• 'BROS' TRAILER: BILLY EICHNER TO LEAD FIRST GAY ROM- BY A MAJOR STUD
• BILLY EICHNER WANTED ‘BROS’ TO STAR ‘GAY RYAN REYNOLDS,’ EMBODY ‘TOM HANKS AND MEG RYAN’ ROM-COM
• CRAFTG A ROM-COM THAT’S TE TO 21ST-CENTURY GAY LIFE
• ‘BROS’ TRAILER: BILLY EICHNER STARS A STEAMY AND META GAY ROM-COM
• BILLY EICHNER ON HIS HISTORY-MAKG GAY ROM-COM ‘BROS’: ‘IT’S THE BT THG I’VE EVER DONE’

‘BROS’ STAR LE MACFARLANE TALKS MASCULY AND GAY INTY

Now, more than a later, the actor will make his theatril film but — the first-ever gay rom- om a major stud (the ma st is entirely ma up of LGBTQ actors). He stars Universal’s Bros, om Billy Eichner (also the first openly gay man to -wre and star his own major stud film) and director Nicholas Stoller (Neighbors).

Their meet-cute happens at a gay club, where a shirtls, ripped, baseball-hatted Aaron mak cheeky nversatn wh the phy and perennially sgle-on-purpose Bobby. “When I first read the Bros script, I really nnected wh Aaron on the ia of, where do his masculy f to the gay spectm?

Macfarlane says he me of age, and to the bs, at a time when gay men felt the ways which they were allowed to exprs themselv, and search for succs, were very narrow. “There was somethg about growg up the ’90s, our ias of masculy me om Abercrombie & Fch or Calv Kle ads, and that was very nfg to gay people of a certa age, ” he says, also rellg how an after-school viewg of the Chippendal dancers on The Phil Donahue Show exemplified the emphatilly mascule msagg of the time.

THE ENTIRE CAST OF BILLY EICHNER’S GAY ROM-COM ‘BROS’ IS LGBTQ+

“It’s about more than gettg gay people out to see the movie, ” says Macfarlane. GBilly Eichner already ma history when he first announced his upg gay rom- Bros was picked up by a major stud (Universal Pictur), the first time that's ever happened, and the achievements jt keep rollg Hollywood Reporter scrib the film as " a smart, swoony and heartfelt edy about two gay men maybe, possibly, probably, stumblg toward love.

”“And while Bros may be the first of s kd several ways, my real hope is that is only the first of many opportuni for openly LGBTQ+ ensembl to she and show the world all we are pable of as actors, beyond jt beg the wacky sikick, token queer or a straight movie star’s ‘gay bt iend. The trailblazg lbian actrs, who publicly me out as gay 1993 and is bt known for her role as Marcy D'Arcy on Fox's long-nng s Children, is set to play the mother of Macfarlane's character Bros!

Bros, the first gay romantic edy om a major Hollywood stud, also has the distctn of havg an all-queer st playg s ma and supportg characters. The plot of Bros follows the plited love story between two jad gay men their 40s, both of whom are tryg to nvce themselv that they are fulfilled their liv whout romantic partners. While this is faiar ground for the genre, as the first gay rom- om a major stud wh an LGBTQ+ st, Bros highlights unique challeng of queer relatnships.

'BROS' STARS SAY 'S TIME FOR STRAIGHT PEOPLE TO ENJOY A GAY ROM

While some viewers may regnize Macfarlane om Killjoys, he is most regnizable om the sts of numero Hallmark movi, cludg their gural gay rom, Sgle All the Way — tertgly enough, Bros pok fun at such ma-for-TV productns wh several tongue--cheek referenc to "Hallheart" movi. Guy Branum (he/him) as Henry – Bobby’s ra on the datg scene, Henry livers amg and prsg acunts of his enunters as a middle-aged sgle gay man Bros. Several very proment and up-and-g actors the LGBTQ+ muny appear Bros smaller rol, cludg Harvey Fierste (Big Mouth), Peter Kim (The 40-Year-Old Versn), and Matthew Wilkas (Gayby).

Romantic edy fans who have been cravg a new addn to the non that breaks the heteronormative mold will see their wish e te this month wh “Bros, ” the first gay rom- to premiere by a major stud. ” “Gay edians like me, we haven’t had a real chance to tell our stori like this a big way, on the big screen, ” he said. ”Both Eichner and Macfarlane said they hope straight people will watch and enjoy their gay rom- — jt like gay people have long watched and enjoyed straight love stori.

LE MACFARLANE ‘BROS’: THE HOTTT MOVIE STAR OF THE YEAR IS A GAY MAN. FALLY!

“As a gay man, I’ve watched those movi, and I cried and I lghed, and I took somethg away om , ” Macfarlane said of straight rom-s. “So I thk maybe askg some of our straight iends to watch a gay uple fall love and cry and lgh and take somethg om , too. Given what we’re discsg—the explic sex scen and filthy, flirty dialogue between gay men that happens the new movie Bros— the next words that e out of his mouth are unexpected: “I’ve kissed a lot of women on Hallmark.

Is a Big Gay Deal, and Macfarlane and I have nvened to talk about Big Gay Thgs. It’s the first major stud theatril release starrg two gay men as the love terts.

Universal PicturMacfarlane me out publicly as gay durg the n of Brothers & Sisters.

‘BROS’ ISN’T AAID TO ADM THE (VERY ANNOYG) TTH ABOUT GAY MEN

) He was acplishg exactly what Hollywood suggted was impossible for out gay actors. And I hope that that sort of crossover between gay and straight be easier for for queer actors movg forward.

‘BROS’ STAR BILLY EICHNER BLAM STRAIGHT PEOPLE FOR GAY ROM-’S BOX OFFICE WO

”Here Macfarlane and I are, talkg about how he beme part of one of Hollywood’s gayt movi to ever h the big screen, and hs me jt how much his succs means. And means jt lettg an actor be an is remarkable about Bros—and remarkable still feels silly to say—is that there is gay sex . “There was a certa level of ecstasy and terror volved that that I thk most gay men n relate to.

”Those gay men don’t have to take a tra to New York Cy’s Wt Village to see this scene, or the movie, at the one pennt cema where Bros is playg. Macfarlane regniz how far he’s e om then, though—as well as how far media has e, terms of offerg gay men like himself somethg to pe serv up way more lectable optns for LGBTQ folks to sk their teeth to than Donahue did. A cisgenr gay man searchg for himself on screen has a different experience than, say a woman of lor.

BROS: MEET THE CAST OF BILLY EICHNER'S HISTORIC GAY ROM-COM

As such, I n only speak as a gay man, who has both celebrated and been entirely pissed off by different exampl of LGBTQ reprentatn mastream culture, gay and of the time, the attempts lean too much to clich about promiscuy.

'BROS' TRAILER: BILLY EICHNER TO LEAD FIRST GAY ROM- BY A MAJOR STUD

”Billy Eichner’s Gay Rom-Com ‘Bros’ Is as Hilar as It Is HistoricBut the stg asi, there’s somethg different about Bros, at least om my own experience watchg, I intified more wh the two romantic leads than I ever had wh any rom- character I’ve ever watched my life—and I nsir myself a historian on all matters Ephron-Meyers-Marshall (my Holy Try).

Universal PicturAbout a ago, he explas, he starred the Broadway productn of The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer, a screed about the way gay men were emed expendable by a ernment that let them die of AIDS, rather than fund life-savg rearch. As the (admtedly self-righteo) marketg mpaign has ma clear, Bros is an event: It stars an out gay man (Billy Eichner) a major stud film about out LGBTQ+ ’s a pretty big al, and I’m thrilled to say that Bros smash out of the park. Bros is a film that regniz somethg no other will: We gays n be really annoyg.

Straight People, I Beg of You: Go See ‘Bros’ TheatersBefore you gather your pchforks, thk of how we normally see gay men movi.

BILLY EICHNER WANTED ‘BROS’ TO STAR ‘GAY RYAN REYNOLDS,’ EMBODY ‘TOM HANKS AND MEG RYAN’ ROM-COM

We seem oh-so-sweet and adorable, very much signed to enpsulate the ia of the gay bt iend. Bobby, like many of the gays Bros, is msy, plited, loud, trated, and, above all, ’s a perfect role for Eichner, whose persona on shows like Billy on the Street and Difficult People is a shouty, liberately abrasive du.

And y, obvly there’s a lot more to beg gay than beg annoyg, but n be a big part of who we are. Bobby spends his nights at the club slyly sultg other gays, who seem to be havg more fun than he is. The tras are not exactly a recipe for the year’s most lovable character, but they e om a place of Macfarlane ‘Bros’: The Hottt Movie Star of the Year Is a Gay Man.

CRAFTG A ROM-COM THAT’S TE TO 21ST-CENTURY GAY LIFE

Through the boistero know--all Bobby, Bros explor the ternalized homophobia and ner turmoil that wh beg gay. This is an exceptnally joyful film, where gays are allowed to be entire people—msy, plited, even unlikable people.

Bros may not technilly be Hollywood's first gay love story — films like Makg Love, Jefey and Fire Island all prece — but 's fely Hollywood's rnchit gay love story. Capturg that aspect of ntemporary LGBTQ life is somethg that was important for the film's out gay stars, and sets Bros apart om the typil Apatow/Stoller jot, where the central uple tends to be monogamo.

‘BROS’ TRAILER: BILLY EICHNER STARS A STEAMY AND META GAY ROM-COM

(Photo: ©Universal/Courty Everett Collectn)Those scen were also an tn for Stoller, who ps to beg a straight director helmg a gay rom-.

BILLY EICHNER ON HIS HISTORY-MAKG GAY ROM-COM ‘BROS’: ‘IT’S THE BT THG I’VE EVER DONE’

The film is already gettg review bombed on IMDB by homophobic viewers, many of whom haven't even seen the movie, leadg Eichner to rpond on social how he feels about the possibily that ter trolls might claim that he's "rptg" Ameri's youth, Eichner says that ship has long sce sailed.