Somehow – probably through voodoo – Billy Eichner and the gang made an accessible mainstream gay romantic comedy that is also super duper out-of-the-closet gay. I don’t know how they got the mixture right… but I didn’t come away thinking “Gosh. I bet that was hilarious to the right demo”.

Bros stars Eichner as a 40 year gay podcaster who is fed up with everyone, including the gay guys he has to spend his time with. But he meets a well-muscled gent at a shirts-optional party and they hit it off. Of course, neither is looking for a relationship… or dating… or exclusivity.

This is a genuinely funny movie that can appeal to everyone, I think, because it simply knows how to tell a joke. The jokes are often mainstream enough to appeal to the straights (I laughed) or told in such a way that people not in the target market will still get it. There are certainly some things I didn’t get… and others I can appreciate from a distance. For example, Debra Messing shows up as herself and I logically know she was on that sitcom but I had no idea she was a gay icon. But I got the joke at least.

Generally speaking, the amount of gay dude kissing and, ahem, more explicit things is pretty high… which might make some squirm or simply opt out. It was very eyebrow raising since this is playing in wide release in local movie theaters. Not in select markets, not in art house theaters, and not direct to streaming.

None of this matters if the actual movie didn’t work… but it does. I think the couple in the movie works. Whether they are the cutest or sexiest pairing, I’ll leave to more discriminating tastes… but they were funny and I did care when they had stupid relationship problems. In a rarity for romcoms, there isn’t an eye-rolling gimmick that threatens to keep them apart… just a normal level of commitment and relationship issues.

I enjoyed this romcom and laughed a whole lot. It’s certainly accessible to a wide audience… at least one that doesn’t run screaming at some half naked gay dudes kissing (and, ahem, more).

Score: 85