BROS – Curated Q&A | TIFF 2022

"The team behind BROS in conversation with TIFF in advance of its premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. This insightful rom-com about a witty, cynical podcaster navigating romance with an earnest, handsome lawyer is a pitch-perfect portrait of queer New York in all its variety.

The 47th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 8 to 18, 2022. For more, visit http://tiff.net.

Part satire, part rom-com — brilliantly disguised as anti-rom-com — Bros is outrageous, insightful, and celebratory. This inspired collaboration between director and co-writer Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and co-writer and star Billy Eichner (Funny or Die’s Billy on the Street) is a laugh-out-loud good time that strides its way into even the most cynical heart. Born and bred in New York City, Bobby Leiber (Eichner) is a beloved podcast host, a self-appointed authority on contemporary queer culture with a merciless, irresistible wit. When speaking about his romantic life, Bobby prides himself on being unsentimental, emotionally unavailable, and interested exclusively in uncomplicated hookups. “Love is not love,” Bobby declares. “Gay men are different.” Enter Aaron (Luke Macfarlane). With his boy-next-door good looks, small-town origins, and dreary profession — he’s a lawyer specializing in wills and estates — Aaron is frequently written off as mere man-candy. But when Bobby and Aaron meet, despite their myriad differences, each senses a spark beyond lust. They tentatively tiptoe into something like coupledom, an enterprise that generates big emotions and deep insecurities in both. Bros pays loving tribute to the wild diversity within LGBTQ+ culture — Bobby is part of the committee overseeing New York’s first LGBTQ+ history museum — while simultaneously lampooning the dizzying minutiae of modern identity politics. Pop-culture savvy, briskly paced, sexy, sweet, and smart, Bros is a reminder that, no matter how self-assured you might be, there’s always the chance that someone else might see a better you.

Nicholas Stoller was born in London and grew up in Miami. He attended Harvard, where he wrote for the Lampoon, and later wrote for Strangers with Candy (00) and <Judd Apatow’s Undeclared (01–02). His films as director include Forgetting Sarah Marshall (08), Get Him to the Greek (10), The Five-Year Engagement (12), Bad Neighbors (14), and Storks (16). He co-created, directed, and co-wrote the TV series Platonic (22). Bros (22) is his latest feature."