As Gay Rom-Com ‘Bros’ Wins Over TIFF, Billy Eichner Thanks Toronto for ‘Letting a Comedy Into a Movie Festival’
Billy Eichner’s “Bros” just make history at the Toronto International Film Festival? It certainly felt like it. The Universal movie is breaking all kinds of barriers: It’s the first gay rom-com ever made by a major studio, the first with an all openly LGBTQ cast and Eichner is the first openly gay man to ever write and star in a studio movie.
Audiences finally got to see the movie for themselves in Toronto on Friday night and, judging by the shrieks of laughter throughout the screening, it was a hit. “I want to thank TIFF for letting a comedy into a movie festival!” Eichner yelled into the audience before the film rolled, making a valid point about the dearth of studio comedies that world premiere at top international film festivals.
Eichner stars in “Bros” as Bobby, a frail museum head who’s down on his luck with the complicated, modern dating world. That is, until he runs into Luke Macfarlane’s Aaron, a buff lawyer who’s the complete opposite of Bobby — but changes everything for him.
Like any rom-com, the two have their own meet-cute (this time at a gay dance club) that turns into a whirlwind romance. Nicholas Stoller (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “Neighbors”) directs the film, which also features Bowen Yang, Jim Rash, Dot-Marie Jones, Harvey Fierstein and more hilarious cast members. “Bros” played to an extremely enthusiastic audience at the Princess of Wales theatre, many of whom stuck around for the post-screening Q&A.
