Apparently we’re living in a renaissance of gay rom-coms, and you’ll be hearing no complaints here!
Hot on the heels of our warm welcome to Fire Island, the buzz is ramping up for Billy Eichner‘s Bros, which is set to debut in theaters on September 30. In an exclusive interview with Empire Magazine, the Billy On The Street star shed some light on his film’s gag-worthy cast, a proper “Who’s Who?” of queer talent. As has been previously reported, many of these actors will be playing straight characters—in fact, Eichner confirms that every single principal member of the cast is from the LGBTQ community.
“It felt like the right thing to do ethically, and creatively it adds something that’s hard to articulate,” the actor—who co-wrote the movie with its director, Nicholas Stoller, shares. “To look around and know we’re making this historic movie and that all of us are representing the entire community… it was really f*cking magical.”
The debate over whether or not straight actors should be able to play queer characters has been raging for years now, but Bros‘ queer casting coup throws an interesting wrench in things. What about when the tables are turned? Eichner gives his two cents: “In theory, I have no problem with straight actors playing gay if they’re worthy of the role. But shouldn’t gay actors get to play our own characters? Can anybody flesh out an LGBTQ+ character like an LGBTQ+ actor?”
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Amen!
As a light refresher, here are just a few of the gays we’ll be seeing on the big screen in Bros: Luke Macfarlane (Brothers And Sisters), theater legend Harvey Fierstein, Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live), Guillermo Díaz (Scandal), icon Ts Madison, Dot-Maries Jones (Glee), Jim Rash (Community), Monica Raymund (Chicago Fire)—*deep breath*—comedian Guy Branum, RuPaul’s Drag Race season 14 crowned queen Symone, Amanda Bearse (Married… With Children), Jai Rodriguez (Queer Eye For The Straight Guy), Eve Lindley (Dispatches From Elsewhere), Brock Ciarlelli (The Middle), Miss Lawrence (The United States Vs. Billie Holiday), and many more. Phew!
Related: 13 cheesy queer comedies from the ’90s for your binging pleasure
For Eichner, it’s all about putting queer voices front and center, and depicting the lives of those in the LGBTQ community as accurately as possible. He knows it’s not as easy as taking a straight rom-com, replacing the woman with a man, and then calling it a day. To quote the infamous homophobic phrase: “It’s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,” and perhaps, as Eichner posits, that’s a good thing—we should be making more space for our own original stories.
“As much as I love When Harry Met Sally, you can’t make When Harry Met Sally that just happens to star two men. Because gay dating is not the same,” Eichner reiterates. “We have our own rules and types of relationship, which can be very quote-unquote ‘heteronormative’ or they can be very unconventional… It has to be as warm and funny as those classic romantic comedies, but it has to be authentic to the gay experience.”
So, is Bros destined to be a new rom-com classic? We’ll have to wait ’til September 30 to find out. In the meantime, you can revisit its raunchy, “Red Band” trailer below.
CatholicXXX
Wish he wouldn’t have casted himself.
That shout talking gets annoying fast.
monty clift
I can’t tell if this is better or worse than that Fire Island mess.
GingerBrandon
I want queer stories of all shapes and sizes, even I don’t like them.
Miles Crown
Exactly what I was thinking. If these are the “highlights,” it’s not looking promising. Re. Fire Island, I want those 105 minutes back.
TheMarc
Funny…a guy just lost his job at a porn company for saying they should only hire gay actors. WTF are our priorities, haha! I guess as long as straight guys are willing to have gay sex we’re cool with it; but if one wants to portray a gay man in a legit production; it’s now a no-no. But we’d be in the streets if a production company told a gay man he can’t play a straight role in this day in age. And rightly so, because it’s a portrayal; one’s sexuality in their personal life really shouldn’t matter. Just find the best person for the role. And I’m not so ignorant to not acknowledge that gay men have been denied roles for a VERY long time due to our personal sexuality. This isn’t the way to balance that equation though.
andy_d
You know what else you won’t see? Union background performers.
alexpof
doesnt look comic ..
keith 2512
Been a major issue here with a senior (Jewish) actress complaining that only Jews should play Jewish roles. By the same extension why should Gay Actors be allowed to play Straight roles? Why should BAME actors be allowed to play white roles? Why should Dame Glenda Jackson be allowed to play Hamlet?
G R
The film looks promising and the late-September release date suggests that the studio is hopeful. And as far as comparing Bros with Fire Island…that movie was as stereotypical as it could’ve possible been, down to the trite dialogue and the predictable plot.