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COMMENTARY: THE REAL LSON OF ‘BROS’: IT’S OK TO LET GAY ART BOMB
At the box office, this gay wtern love story grossed $178 ln around the world acrdg to BoxOfficeMojo. Given how racist and homophobic certa dienc n be, this number is nsired a pretty big succs for a g-of-age film about a man who is both Black and gay. However, one mt take to nsiratn the very aggrsive nservative phback that surround this film due to the fact that featured a gay leadg character.
I didn’t want to dimish “the first major stud movie wrten by and starrg a gay man” or spoil s Rotten Tomato sre or dance on the grave of s box-office prospects. I certaly didn’t want to attack the star of “Billy on the Street” and “Difficult People, ” two of the most succsful screen adaptatns of the gay sensibily recent memory. ”Do that make too the “homophobic weirdos” of Eichner’s nfoundg post-bomb tweet spiral or simply the silent Benedict Arnolds of his self-proclaimed march to the history books?
It is emently ldable that Eichner has ma a sexually ank stud edy featurg two gay men, and that he sisted, as wgman/-star/-producer Guy Branum not, on an all-LGBTQ st. Its laceratg send-ups of token reprentatn Hallmark Christmas movi; the “hnted hoe of gay trma” that pop culture pass off as queer history; even Eichner’s own public persona are all a potent, knowg nod to the ongog challeng of tellg LGBTQ stori — of livg LGBTQ liv — whout simply repurposg a tired, old, straight the culmatg ame of s fal act, that is, when the image of two nventnally attractive gay men kissg is posned, lerally, as the ldatory bookend to “5, 000 years of gay love stori erased om the history books. And yet, spe the affi Eichner and I share on paper — no, bee of the affi we share on paper — I reil at “Bros’” squanred privilege, bristle at s star’s attempt to hi s shortgs behd the veil of homophobia.