Like a campfire in the rain, there was a lot of wood but no spark.

Some are saying that Bros' performance anxiety in the boxoffice means that America isn't ready for a gay rom-com. I'm not so sure, I think maybe America just isn't ready for *this* gay rom-com.

As someone who didn't see this at TIFF (all the rave reviews on Letterboxd are from people who attended the premiere there), I enjoyed much of this film's 'com' but felt the 'rom' didn't deliver.

The characters' motivations felt vague (Aaron is ambivalent about Bobby until they wrestle on a picnic blanket and then suddenly he's in love deeper than the ass of the Mariana trench), story lines were ignored (Bobby starts off the movie as a famous podcaster [1 million subscribers!] and then never podcasts or even mentions it again), but the movie was going for a Nora Ephron remakes Stranger by the Lake vibe and falls short on the Nora Ephron part.

This is not to say I didn't like the film! The Twitter style one-liners were hilarious, Billy Eichner put in an amazing performance and I discovered the amazing Eve Lindley who played Tamara (as in, Tamara, Tamara I love you Tamara!).

I also got emotional over the subplot of crediting those who lived and died making the world a more accepting place for the LGBTQ+ population. It's nice to see their courage, dedication and determination are still being celebrated today.

All in all, Bros is a decent enough Tinder hook up but doesn't have the staying power for anything deeper.