Bros Footage Reaction: Billy Eichner's Incredibly Gay Rom-Com Looks Like A Hoot [CinemaCon 2022]

We've been hearing about Billy Eichner's gay romantic comedy "Bros" since 2019, but thanks to the pandemic, we're only now finally getting to see the fruits of his labor. Believe it or not, thanks to "Bros," Eichner is now the first openly gay man to co-write and star in a major studio film, and "Bros" is the first major studio film to feature an all openly LGBTQ+ principal cast. It's truly staggering that it's taken this long to reach this milestone, but glass ceilings are being shattered. Joining Eichner is a pretty stacked cast featuring Luke Macfarlane, Jim Rash, Bowen Yang, Guillermo Díaz, TS Madison, Harvey Fierstein, Symone, Guy Branum, Eve Lindley, Miss Lawrence, D'Lo Srijaerajah, Benito Skinner, Peter Kim, Justin Covington, Becca Blackwell, and the incomparable Dot-Marie Jones. 

The first look at "Bros" was screened at CinemaCon, and while we can't share any new footage or images, we can tell you what we saw.

Billy Eichner took to the stage with the exact kind of energy you would expect from someone known for shoving a microphone in the faces of strangers while screaming "NAME A WOMAN!" during his popular game show, "Billy on the Street." He of course had to hype up the fact that "Bros" is the first gay romantic comedy made by a major studio, and described the film as "the hottest thing to hit Vegas since, right here on this stage, Lady Gaga once had sex with Tony Bennett." Oh, Billy. 

"I think it's important that before we got one movie about a gay couple, we got two movies about a talking hedgehog," he said, throwing not-so-subtle shade to Paramount's film about the blue blur, "Sonic the Hedgehog." Look, he's obviously joking, but that's a genuinely depressing reality when you hear it said out loud.

Not only is "Bros" the first major gay romcom, it's also the first major studio film with an all LGBTQIA+ cast, with even the straight roles played by gay actors. Straight people are notorious for playing gay, and with few exceptions, gay actors aren't even given the chance to be considered for straight roles. "Representation matters," he said. "Our first priority was to make a funny movie." Oh, thank god. As any queer film fan will tell you, there are some busted as hell, unfunny, queer comedies out there that coast on the laurels of just featuring openly queer performers. 

"This movie — I know it's weird to say about my own movie — but we've been watching people watch early screenings of my own movie, and it's unlike anything you've ever seen," Eichner said. "It's not about gay people suffering through tragedy, it's about them finding someone they can tolerate and go through life with." THANK. GOD. WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH SAD GAY DRAMAS! "One of the most thrilling moments of my whole damn life is to be able to stand here and give the first look," he says, before rolling the first footage of the relatively secretive "Bros."

The footage is an assortment of moments, similar to a teaser trailer. It begins showing Billy Eichner's character hosting a podcast. "Big movie producers came to me and said we want you to write a romcom about a gay couple," his character says. "Love is Love is Love is bulls***." Wow, look at you, meta rom-com! In another moment, he says "Our sex lives are different" and it cuts to him sending a booty pic to a Tinder date ... who immediately blocks him. Shortly after, a moment is shown of two guys going down on a third man, who looks to be Eichner's date. In the middle of the mouth business Eichner deadpans, "I'm going to go."

He then meets a guy in a club who says, "I like somebody who's physically frail and won't stop talking," which sounds like the Grindr profile bio of my college roommate. (Lies, he's the frail one who won't shut up.) Following this scene, there's a board meeting for LGBTQIA+ representation where actor Jim Rash and a woman say, "Do you guys remember straight people? They had a nice run." This joke rules because it sounds like something gay people would actually joke about and not a "gay joke" written by straight people ... which means insecure straight people are going to throw a s*** fit about it when it comes out. GOOD.

While an official plot synopsis has yet to be released, "Bros" has been described as "a smart, swoony and heartfelt comedy about two gay men maybe, possibly, probably, stumbling toward love. Maybe. They're both very busy." It seems like a pretty standard rom-com plotline, of course, with the twist that it's not a Meg Ryan movie. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Eichner had plenty to say about the film:

I could not be more proud or excited about the historic nature of the all openly LGBTQ+ cast of "Bros." After queer actors have spent decades watching straight actors capitalize both artistically and professionally by playing LGBTQ+ characters, it is a long overdue dream come true to be able to assemble this remarkable, hilarious cast, and while "Bros" may be the first of its kind in several ways, my real hope is that it is only the first of many opportunities for openly LGBTQ+ ensembles to shine and show the world all we are capable of as actors, beyond just being the wacky sidekick, token queer or a straight movie star's "gay best friend." And beyond all of that, this cast is f****** hysterical and you're going to love them.

"Bros" drops in theaters on September 30, 2022