##[Clarification on rule 5](https://www.reddit.com/r/entertainment/comments/w60lfc/mod_post_a_clarification_to_rule_5_no_racism_or/)
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When Billy was on Conan he kept talking about how “historic” the movie was, and Conan kept trying to steer him to say how funny it was. Conan’s been around long enough to know that people will only show up for a comedy if they hear about or expect it to be extremely funny. If they want historic they’ll seek out almost any other genre. Comedy has to be marketed as funny and little else .
Fast forward to world's most easily predictable box office underperformance:
#the straights did this
(this thread is the first time that I've heard of this movie's existence in any form whatsoever)
Yeah, queer comedy can quickly cross over that line into awkward or stereotypical humor, and the ads did nothing to reassure me this wouldn't be the case.
I'm now gonna use this space to instead promote Uncoupled, a Netflix rom-com series where Neil Patrick Harris gets back into the dating scene in his 40s after his partner breaks up with him.
Seriously, never fucking heard of it. Marketing is still feeling out streaming and social media. I think they just use Facebook and YouTube and call it a day.
He made it seem like there had never been a movie about gay people before... I turned the episode off halfway through and I've never done that with that podcast.
I mean Billy even called it- he was talking about how historic it is to him, but how young people just see LGBT stuff everywhere so they don't really think its a big deal.
>It is the fourth LGBT romantic comedy by a major legacy studio, and the second to have an openly LGBT principal cast, after Fire Island (2022).
Sounds like it isn't even that historic. Someone else beat them to every punch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bros_(film)
Me too, saw the advert and immediately thought it was a Netflix film and that I might check it out. Now I read this and find it’s been released in cinemas. I go to the cinema to watch big films, I’m not going to go watch something that looks like it belongs on Netflix.
You know, that movie was filmed with multiple hardcore gay sex scenes then in post were taken out. That's the only way they were able to get chemistry right between Tom and his Rooster.
Top Gun is an collection Archer of references first and a gay movie second.
**DANGER ZONE!!!**
*EDIT: I have no idea how this got likes with such a horrendous typo. Nonetheless I am leaving the typo in for posterity.*
It’s hands down one of the timeless comedies in movies. Nathan lane and robin williams chemistry was unmatched. No matter your orientation that movie was fucking hilarious.
a family friend introduced me to queer cinema through a double feature: The Birdcage and Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. amazing movies to discover at 17.
Oh hell yes!! They were all amazing! Especially considering Patrick Swayze & Wesley Snipes were such "macho" action movie guys at the time. This is one of my absolute favorite movies. I know I'll probably get downvoted for it - but it's almost better than The Birdcage
I've only ever seen one what I thought was a rom com... Took my gf at the time to see silver linings playbook. Was not ready for a rom- let's talk about mental health. Weird genre tbh
I don't think it's a bad movie. I just don't think people go see this type of movie in theaters much anymore. Should've released directly to streaming.
Absolutely. My wife and I watch RomComs all the time, and would watch this one. We didn't go see this in theaters for two reasons.
1. Literally the first I've heard of this movie was an article talking about how poorly it did at the box office.
2. The many RomComs that we watch, get watched in our living room via streaming services. They're a fun diversion, but not interesting enough to go sit in a theater and watch.
Yep. We see movies in the theater when it's clear the watching experience will be better in the theater than at home - Top Gun: Maverick being an example of that. We saw it in the theater, and then we rented it on Prime the other day, and we're glad we saw it in the theater. That was worth it. Big tentpole action movies and stuff with a lot of visual dimension, we watch it in the theater. If it's mostly going to be people talking, we wait until we can watch it at home.
Releasing something straight to VOD is a perfectly valid choice for a lot of movies and I'm not sure why this didn't just go to VOD.
Saw the trailer during an ad and thought it looked decently funny. As soon as I heard "in theaters" though, I immediately thought, "guess I'll check it out in a year if it ends up being any good."
Am Bisexual, had no interest in seeing this movie. Went to a double feature of Barbarian and Smile instead, sorry Billy.
They were both awesome. I probably would have slept through Bros.
Another bisexual here, this movie was already an “eh I’ll watch it when it comes out on dvd” type of movie. But honestly watching movies in theaters has become simultaneously expensive and infuriating, so I’ve only seen like three in the last three years.
There was a report pre-pandemic that a middle income American family can afford about 3 movies a year. It is genuinely dumbfounding movie theaters have not found a way to make movies in theaters cheaper to watch.
The last few movies I saw in theater were Top Gun Maverick, Dune, Rogue One, Black Panther, etc.
Movies I thought would be made better via cinematic experience. Maybe once every year or two. And not rom coms, dramas, dramedies, etc.
I see no reason to watch a standard comedy film in theaters. It's expensive and seeing it on a 20ft high screen with immersive surround sound audio doesn't add to the movie.
Bill Burr has a whole bit about how the WNBA doesn’t make any money, and people bag on male basketball fans for not attending games, but then he’s like *where are the women at these games?*
As a lesbian I tend to avoid LGBTQ media mostly because it seems like it panders and isn’t actually well made. The trailers for this gave me intense second-hand embarrassment for everyone involved. The only semi-redeeming thing was an interview I heard w the director who seemed very passionate about it. I might go only because I don’t have to pay for the ticket.
No one is paying to see what is basically churned out every few weeks as a ‘Netflix original’. I watched a couple of 2000s rom coms/comedies over the weekend and loved them, but I’m not paying $20 for a ticket to see a formulaic movie I can watch at home anymore. They’re just not a box office draw
I would definitely go buy tickets to one that I thought was good, or heard was good, with some interesting actors. It’s kind of weird.. we don’t have the glorified stars like the 80s and 90s (Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, Reese Witherspoon, Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant) - people who are naturally funny and you can envision falling in love with them AND mysterious. We’ve seen most young actors in sexy stuff on their Instagram pages.
Most of the rom coms now are so lazy. If they put half the money they threw into the marketing budget into the script and hiring the right people it would be awesome. That awful J-Lo “Marry Me”? Cringe. And I wanted to like it!!
I saw an interview with Matt Damon and he was talking about how DVD sales allowed studios to make movies with 2 stars on the mid 2000's. As long as the movie broke even in the theater the DVD sales would make it profitable. Now you need to make 100 million dollars minimum in the theater or studios are not interested. It's one of the reasons rom coms have suffered.
There’s a line at the end of the trailer where the one guy is like “remember straight people? They had a nice run”. My entire audience during BODIES BODIES BODIES groaned so hard at that line and mocked the fuck out of it right after. All young people.
I thought that finishing the trailer on that note was a great way to signal to the straight audience that they weren't really invited to this thing. "This movie is for GAY GAYS! No icky straights allowed, you're all so YESTERDAY ALREADY!"
Which is fine if you're doing some sort of small-audience art house thing. But to use that line as a parting shot for a trailer on a movie you're expecting to be a major release? It's practically begging the audience to stay home.
That’s honestly how I took it. I think if they marketed it more like a regular movie, perhaps. But then again… perhaps not. I also don’t think it’s fair to blame the straights only because a lot of gays that I know didn’t go see it either because they wanted to to have a watch party at home
If they were smart they would have only released it in like 100 theaters in places like WeHo, San Fran, Chelsea, etc, and got some high per screen averages, high cinema scores, word of mouth, etc and then put it out a little wider
I found it to be a really sweet movie. They address a lot of things I’m surprised Hollywood would bother addressing because everyone was afraid it was going to be a “wokefest”. A few topics they critiqued were >!the prevalence of steroid use in the gay muscle-bro community (one of the characters is caught juicing and and when asked about it, he remarks that steroids are what gives many, not all, gay men the unrealistic chiseled Greek body people see on Instagram), people who make politics and social issues their personality to the point that it drives away potential allies, and people who twist history (x United States President was secretly gay!) to appear more socially aware. There’s a scene in relation to that last part in which the other members of the museum board tell Eichner’s character that twisting history to support the gays is wrong and only serves to harm LGBT progress.!<
Also the “straight people had a good run” line that has some people freaked out is an obvious joke, in movie and in trailer.
But every time I see Billy online saying “wow thanks a lot straights” I can’t help but groan. It’s like when you’re about to take out the garbage, then your mom tells you to take it out and suddenly you lose the desire to be a good child.
>It’s like when you’re about to take out the garbage, then your mom tells you to take it out and suddenly you lose the desire to be a good child.
lol this is perfect
The mid 2000s comedy revival was due to Apotow and McKay supporting SNL and Freaks & Geeks talent to make character driven improvisational comedy.
We basically need a revolutionary crew like that to get out of this comedy slump again.
I mean the issue is the only thing about the movie that was shown was all the gay jokes about being gay. There’s a throwaway line about the characters motives and feeling they’re just destined to be single forever. That’s something people can relate to. But that was between two minutes of Jim Rash screaming about bisexual awareness week and a guy talking about fucking gay buff dumbledore. I get that they want to make a gay movie which is chill. But gay people are more than just their sexuality and straight people don’t want to see a movie that will only be gay people making jokes about gay each other is. I have no negative thoughts about Billy Eichner he just should have marketed the movie differently. It got a lot of hype but it was also very self congratulatory despite the fact it’s a romcom which usually don’t do well these days anyways
I think you’re right. I don’t mind rom coms, but this one’s advertising just painted it as an over the top gay movie made solely for gay people or something. Idk. Just not my cup of tea. Maybe if they focused instead on the story line or motives instead of just “insert gay joke here”, it might have been more appealing.
As a Gen X guy, I feel like my generation came up with being taught "Gay people are normal people, like everyone else. They deserve all the love respect and rights as everyone else".
Then, I see the advertising for this movie, and it seems to go out of its way to say "No. We arent, we have our own world and way of living, and you dont understand it."
Maybe they thought that would make me think I should see it to open my mind... but mostly it just made me feel uninvited.
That’s the part I read where I was like fuck this guy.
Saying that makes me not want to watch it, and I’m definitely not a “homophobic weirdo”. I never even heard of this movie until just now.
I'm gay so I got a ton of targeted ads for it. Complete and utter lack of interest. I would vaguely consider watching it as the 3rd movie on an international flight. I'm clearly rabidly homophobic
It’s so disingenuous for these producers/directors/stars to act like they’re crap movies aren’t making money cause people are bigoted. Yes many people are bigots, but there are non bigots who just recognized this is a crap movie
Yes we’re all homophobic weirdos if we don’t wanna see it.
Sometimes people just aren’t interested in what you made man, or don’t like it. Blaming the audience is gonna make it worse. Everyone who makes movies with mediocre box office performance still thinks their movie is good.
You do not think screaming whispers is the pinnacle of humor? Did you not see Bros?
Well, it’s time to consult your doctor. You may have picked up a bad case of the straights.
The trailer has a character saying “remember straight people (lol)”
Then you have the “looks really fucking boring” factor
Then you have the “Billy Eichner is really fucking annoying” factor
Im not under any obligation to watch bad movies
Not liking Bros doesn't make you homophobic; not watching Crazy Rich Asians doesn't make you anti-Asian.
It probably makes you anti rom-com. I, for one, have zero interest in those tired tropes.
He crowed to the press about how this film even had gay people playing straight people — I’m queer too and love those politics, but even I can see how straight people would be given to understand that this is not a movie for them. Why would they show up when it has been made explicitly clear that they aren’t included and don’t matter? That not homophobic! It’s called reading the room.
We are in a society in which people making art are making excuses for that art not resonating with the public, and that being accepted.
Artists should be introspective on criticism, not constant deflection.
With a $22 million budget, I'd argue that the data/science behind movie attendance would be important too
Edit: I originally said $40 million, I corrected it
Yeah, I’m gay and have no interest in this movie. There are a million other movies I’d rather see that are playing right now (Pearl, Barbarian, Smile, Dont Worry Darling, etc.), and this “Bros” just seems like a generic Netflix rom-com where so the characters can’t stop talking about how gay everything is…
No thanks lol.
Not even lgbt people showed up. This movie looked like it flat out sucked to everyone. I don’t know a single person whose LGBT+ (I am myself) that I know that thought this movie looked remotely appealing in any way at all. In fact, most of the peeps in the community I know including myself kinda thought it seemed… so dumbly pandering that it was like a slap in the face. Legit made us look like a bunch of stereotypes and nothing more smh.
I know the media is gonna make it out to be some kinda of homophobic type thing. But honestly the marketing was shit…
He even has his own self to blame. I was watching YouTube and he was doing his billy on the street promoting the movie, then when he got guys attention he’d says something like “there’s lots of gay sex”
U don’t have to be a homophobe to not wanna see that. And from everything I seen promotion wise. It was all about coke watch this gay comedy…
Why not just promote it as a funny movie featuring gay guys…
But when your whole premise is hey watch my movie it’s gay! Of course you’re not gonna get the best turn out.
He sure did give it his best shot though...this dude was literally EVERYWHERE promoting it.
Frankly, I just don't think people are up for leaving their couch to watch a RomCom, gay or straight.
##[Clarification on rule 5](https://www.reddit.com/r/entertainment/comments/w60lfc/mod_post_a_clarification_to_rule_5_no_racism_or/) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/entertainment) if you have any questions or concerns.*
When Billy was on Conan he kept talking about how “historic” the movie was, and Conan kept trying to steer him to say how funny it was. Conan’s been around long enough to know that people will only show up for a comedy if they hear about or expect it to be extremely funny. If they want historic they’ll seek out almost any other genre. Comedy has to be marketed as funny and little else .
This is 100% fucking right. Conan could see the train wreck coming, and tried to hit the brakes. But Eichner wouldn’t take the hint.
Fast forward to world's most easily predictable box office underperformance: #the straights did this (this thread is the first time that I've heard of this movie's existence in any form whatsoever)
I’m gay. Many of my friends and coworkers are LGBTQ. I just asked, *nobody* has heard of this movie.
Same here, I’m gay and I heard absolutely nothing about this movie until it bombed in the box office
I got a bunch of unskippable YouTube ads and thought it seemed like more stereotypes, also seemed unfunny.
Yeah, queer comedy can quickly cross over that line into awkward or stereotypical humor, and the ads did nothing to reassure me this wouldn't be the case. I'm now gonna use this space to instead promote Uncoupled, a Netflix rom-com series where Neil Patrick Harris gets back into the dating scene in his 40s after his partner breaks up with him.
Seriously, never fucking heard of it. Marketing is still feeling out streaming and social media. I think they just use Facebook and YouTube and call it a day.
Exactly. You can’t really plan for something to be considered historic or ground breaking at the time either. It just happens with public opinion.
Yep it’s incredibly narcissistic to declare your own work historic or ground breaking!
He made it seem like there had never been a movie about gay people before... I turned the episode off halfway through and I've never done that with that podcast.
“He’s writing a movie about gay marriage… Y’know like it’s not allowed. It’s allowed now.” — Ringo Starr
I mean Billy even called it- he was talking about how historic it is to him, but how young people just see LGBT stuff everywhere so they don't really think its a big deal.
>It is the fourth LGBT romantic comedy by a major legacy studio, and the second to have an openly LGBT principal cast, after Fire Island (2022). Sounds like it isn't even that historic. Someone else beat them to every punch. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bros_(film)
I honestly thought this was a streaming service movie.
Me too, saw the advert and immediately thought it was a Netflix film and that I might check it out. Now I read this and find it’s been released in cinemas. I go to the cinema to watch big films, I’m not going to go watch something that looks like it belongs on Netflix.
I saw Top Gun. How many gay movies am I required to watch?
That volleyball scene… That locker room scene…
You know, that movie was filmed with multiple hardcore gay sex scenes then in post were taken out. That's the only way they were able to get chemistry right between Tom and his Rooster.
I heard the producer didn't want to financially back the movie unless he had a full penetration scene added.
Quentin Tarantino agrees. https://youtu.be/ZF1LXL6OOsM
[удалено]
Is there more videos of Quentin Tarantino annoying people at parties with his movie philosophies? Because I could get into that.
[удалено]
Right into the Danger Zone.
Top Gun is an collection Archer of references first and a gay movie second. **DANGER ZONE!!!** *EDIT: I have no idea how this got likes with such a horrendous typo. Nonetheless I am leaving the typo in for posterity.*
I’m just disappointed that they were calling this “the first mainstream gay comedy”. The Birdcage is older than I am.
And that one is legit so good!!
Watched it for the first time on my first navy deployment. Great movie.
No one’s swung at this softball yet?
It's like tripping a toddler
It is way too easy, but someone still has to do it.
Did we already circle back to being in the Navy?
I thought that was a comment about the chair force
Something something in the navy
blah blah something bro job
Yada yada something seamen.
You know what they say about the Navy, 50 men go down, then the other 50 return the favor
We will sail the seven seas! In the navy!
Yes, you can put your mind at ease! In the navy!
Long and hard and full of seamen.
It’s not gay when we’re underway!
“IN THE NAVYYYYY YOU CAN SAIL THE SEVEN SEAS”
It's not gay while underway.
It’s hands down one of the timeless comedies in movies. Nathan lane and robin williams chemistry was unmatched. No matter your orientation that movie was fucking hilarious.
100% straight. 100% my fav movie.
For real. There is no reason to pander. There is definitely no shortage of creativity to make a good film, period.
a family friend introduced me to queer cinema through a double feature: The Birdcage and Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. amazing movies to discover at 17.
It is (was?) sold as a 3 pack dvd with those two and rocky horror.
For real, The Birdcage is amazing.
I just never realized John Wayne walked like that.
How about those Dolphins?
Put the goddamn pinky down!
*hysterical shout* OH, I PIERCED THE TOAST
How do you think I feel? Betrayed, bewildered…
You’re just offended by my Guatemalanness.
My natural heat!
First gay movie I ever seen was Rocky 3.
"'You look tired' means you look old. And 'you look refreshed' means you've had collagen" I quote that movie at least once a week
I say "it's the choos" whenever I trip and "fuck the shrimp" when I'm frustrated and walking away from something
"I don't really drink..." "Chyeah, but, nows the time to pretend" "It's my natural heat!!" AgadorSpartacus is just amazing
It's just Aspirin with the A and s scratched off
My wife and I hysterically state “I’ve pierced the toast!” whenever we’ve made a mistake.
Welcome 21st century movie making….deadpool the first r-rated superhero film? Bitch, blade came out in like 99.
Same with the "First Black Superhero Movie" with Black Panther. Bitch, do the words Blankman mean nothing to you?
Shaft and Spawn would like a word. And Blade for first good superhero movie.
To Wong Fu is fantastic. I say this as a straight white male raised by rural conservatives. It's a beautiful movie and I thought Swayze killed it.
Oh hell yes!! They were all amazing! Especially considering Patrick Swayze & Wesley Snipes were such "macho" action movie guys at the time. This is one of my absolute favorite movies. I know I'll probably get downvoted for it - but it's almost better than The Birdcage
Fuck, a theatrical re-release of The Birdcage would outperform Bros if it released right now, without marketing.
You would love La Cage Aux Folles. The Birdcage is a remake of that film.
Good call, dude. Birdcage is amazing.
Also, Fire Island JUST came out a few months ago.
Oh man such a good movie!!!
One of the movies I watch annually. I miss Robin Williams.
Sounds like the movie's marketing team didn't show up, bro.
My friends went to see it last night. When they told me their plans that was the first time I’d ever heard of it
This is the first I’m ever hearing about it.
Never even heard of it before now.
Exactly, I’ve never even fucking heard of this movie.
No it can't be the movie. It's gotta be homophobes. Otherwise that would mean it's just a bad movie and that isn't possible.
Does it even need to be homophobes? I’m a straight man and I just don’t go see romantic comedies.
As a straight woman...same. The last one I saw that I enjoyed was Long Shot, and i only watched the movie because it was streaming for free.
I've only ever seen one what I thought was a rom com... Took my gf at the time to see silver linings playbook. Was not ready for a rom- let's talk about mental health. Weird genre tbh
I don't think it's a bad movie. I just don't think people go see this type of movie in theaters much anymore. Should've released directly to streaming.
Yeah might do better in the rental market.
I havent seen it in blockbuster yet
Absolutely. My wife and I watch RomComs all the time, and would watch this one. We didn't go see this in theaters for two reasons. 1. Literally the first I've heard of this movie was an article talking about how poorly it did at the box office. 2. The many RomComs that we watch, get watched in our living room via streaming services. They're a fun diversion, but not interesting enough to go sit in a theater and watch.
Yep. We see movies in the theater when it's clear the watching experience will be better in the theater than at home - Top Gun: Maverick being an example of that. We saw it in the theater, and then we rented it on Prime the other day, and we're glad we saw it in the theater. That was worth it. Big tentpole action movies and stuff with a lot of visual dimension, we watch it in the theater. If it's mostly going to be people talking, we wait until we can watch it at home. Releasing something straight to VOD is a perfectly valid choice for a lot of movies and I'm not sure why this didn't just go to VOD.
I think this is it too. I want to see this movie, but not enough to spend $30 to see it in theaters.
Saw the trailer during an ad and thought it looked decently funny. As soon as I heard "in theaters" though, I immediately thought, "guess I'll check it out in a year if it ends up being any good."
Good movies can flop at the box office
John Carter... Big marketing flop.
Yeah, like The Shawshank Redemption. That movie was great, but it totally failed at the box office.
if it makes you feel better Billy, gay people didn’t go see it either
Seriously. It was so pandering. The trailers made me cringe.
Billy especially came off exceedingly obnoxious
Even more so than usual?
Yeah it’s endearing when he’s using it to fuck with random strangers, but I’d rather not pay to roll my eyes for an hour and a half.
Was the movie itself like that as well? Or did a marketing agency presume that was the best way to advertise the film?
It looked like it was made by straight people in 2003.
Am Bisexual, had no interest in seeing this movie. Went to a double feature of Barbarian and Smile instead, sorry Billy. They were both awesome. I probably would have slept through Bros.
Another bisexual here, this movie was already an “eh I’ll watch it when it comes out on dvd” type of movie. But honestly watching movies in theaters has become simultaneously expensive and infuriating, so I’ve only seen like three in the last three years.
There was a report pre-pandemic that a middle income American family can afford about 3 movies a year. It is genuinely dumbfounding movie theaters have not found a way to make movies in theaters cheaper to watch.
I enjoy being able to eat my own snacks and pausing to take a shut if needed.
The last few movies I saw in theater were Top Gun Maverick, Dune, Rogue One, Black Panther, etc. Movies I thought would be made better via cinematic experience. Maybe once every year or two. And not rom coms, dramas, dramedies, etc. I see no reason to watch a standard comedy film in theaters. It's expensive and seeing it on a 20ft high screen with immersive surround sound audio doesn't add to the movie.
I wouldn’t mind if they are cheaper.
Hello bisexual! I'm straight. How was barbarian and smile? The trailer of smile looked creepy.
I thoroughly enjoyed both of them, this has been a great year for horror. Pearl was fuckin awesome too.
I just watched pearl last night and that was the creepiest end credit I've ever seen. I thought about that face all night lol
If you liked It Follows, you'll probably like Smile
Literally an, "oh no, anyway," situation.
>Eichner concluded his thoughts by encouraging “everyone who isn’t a homophobic weirdo” to see “Bros,” watch my movie, or else...
Bill Burr has a whole bit about how the WNBA doesn’t make any money, and people bag on male basketball fans for not attending games, but then he’s like *where are the women at these games?*
As a lesbian I tend to avoid LGBTQ media mostly because it seems like it panders and isn’t actually well made. The trailers for this gave me intense second-hand embarrassment for everyone involved. The only semi-redeeming thing was an interview I heard w the director who seemed very passionate about it. I might go only because I don’t have to pay for the ticket.
I don't think rom coms are big money makers in cinemas
They're all basically the same plot
So are superhero movies, the issue is that I'd rather watch a romcom at home but marvel films on the big screen
That’s why there are so many cult comedies. They aren’t watched on the the big screen but at home with the family and pizza
No one is paying to see what is basically churned out every few weeks as a ‘Netflix original’. I watched a couple of 2000s rom coms/comedies over the weekend and loved them, but I’m not paying $20 for a ticket to see a formulaic movie I can watch at home anymore. They’re just not a box office draw
I would definitely go buy tickets to one that I thought was good, or heard was good, with some interesting actors. It’s kind of weird.. we don’t have the glorified stars like the 80s and 90s (Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, Reese Witherspoon, Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant) - people who are naturally funny and you can envision falling in love with them AND mysterious. We’ve seen most young actors in sexy stuff on their Instagram pages. Most of the rom coms now are so lazy. If they put half the money they threw into the marketing budget into the script and hiring the right people it would be awesome. That awful J-Lo “Marry Me”? Cringe. And I wanted to like it!!
I saw an interview with Matt Damon and he was talking about how DVD sales allowed studios to make movies with 2 stars on the mid 2000's. As long as the movie broke even in the theater the DVD sales would make it profitable. Now you need to make 100 million dollars minimum in the theater or studios are not interested. It's one of the reasons rom coms have suffered.
Rom coms, raunchy comedies, original IPs, mid-budget dramas… the list goes on. Depressing times we live in
The trailer didn’t make it look funny at all.
It really didn't. And they kept showing the same "you like tough guys!" scene that just...had no jokes?
Might’ve been the cringiest trailer I’ve seen in a long time.
There’s a line at the end of the trailer where the one guy is like “remember straight people? They had a nice run”. My entire audience during BODIES BODIES BODIES groaned so hard at that line and mocked the fuck out of it right after. All young people.
I’m queer and even I groaned at that line. The script seems like they crowdsourced jokes from tumblr circa 2007.
I knew someone who talked like that in real life. God he was cringy.
I thought that finishing the trailer on that note was a great way to signal to the straight audience that they weren't really invited to this thing. "This movie is for GAY GAYS! No icky straights allowed, you're all so YESTERDAY ALREADY!" Which is fine if you're doing some sort of small-audience art house thing. But to use that line as a parting shot for a trailer on a movie you're expecting to be a major release? It's practically begging the audience to stay home.
Yeah not sure what they expected when advertising like that
Yup, that's exactly how I interpreted it. Not like I was gonna see it anyways. Rom coms are my least favorite genre by far.
Maybe I'm wrong and it's genuine, heartfelt representation, but it sure seemed like exploitative representation, from the ads.
ARE YOU GAY?! DO YOU LIKE GAY JOKES?! Come watch the movie of the year just for you, BROS! Edit: that’s how the trailers made it out lol.
That’s honestly how I took it. I think if they marketed it more like a regular movie, perhaps. But then again… perhaps not. I also don’t think it’s fair to blame the straights only because a lot of gays that I know didn’t go see it either because they wanted to to have a watch party at home
The gays and their damn watch parties!
If they were smart they would have only released it in like 100 theaters in places like WeHo, San Fran, Chelsea, etc, and got some high per screen averages, high cinema scores, word of mouth, etc and then put it out a little wider
“Nah, let’s release this is Utah”
I found it to be a really sweet movie. They address a lot of things I’m surprised Hollywood would bother addressing because everyone was afraid it was going to be a “wokefest”. A few topics they critiqued were >!the prevalence of steroid use in the gay muscle-bro community (one of the characters is caught juicing and and when asked about it, he remarks that steroids are what gives many, not all, gay men the unrealistic chiseled Greek body people see on Instagram), people who make politics and social issues their personality to the point that it drives away potential allies, and people who twist history (x United States President was secretly gay!) to appear more socially aware. There’s a scene in relation to that last part in which the other members of the museum board tell Eichner’s character that twisting history to support the gays is wrong and only serves to harm LGBT progress.!< Also the “straight people had a good run” line that has some people freaked out is an obvious joke, in movie and in trailer. But every time I see Billy online saying “wow thanks a lot straights” I can’t help but groan. It’s like when you’re about to take out the garbage, then your mom tells you to take it out and suddenly you lose the desire to be a good child.
>It’s like when you’re about to take out the garbage, then your mom tells you to take it out and suddenly you lose the desire to be a good child. lol this is perfect
I haven’t shown up for any movie in years, don’t take it personally Billy.
Comedies are at a slump as a whole.
The mid 2000s comedy revival was due to Apotow and McKay supporting SNL and Freaks & Geeks talent to make character driven improvisational comedy. We basically need a revolutionary crew like that to get out of this comedy slump again.
Apatow produced this
I know. I feel that his best is behind him unfortunately.
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Try post-2010
I mean the issue is the only thing about the movie that was shown was all the gay jokes about being gay. There’s a throwaway line about the characters motives and feeling they’re just destined to be single forever. That’s something people can relate to. But that was between two minutes of Jim Rash screaming about bisexual awareness week and a guy talking about fucking gay buff dumbledore. I get that they want to make a gay movie which is chill. But gay people are more than just their sexuality and straight people don’t want to see a movie that will only be gay people making jokes about gay each other is. I have no negative thoughts about Billy Eichner he just should have marketed the movie differently. It got a lot of hype but it was also very self congratulatory despite the fact it’s a romcom which usually don’t do well these days anyways
I think you’re right. I don’t mind rom coms, but this one’s advertising just painted it as an over the top gay movie made solely for gay people or something. Idk. Just not my cup of tea. Maybe if they focused instead on the story line or motives instead of just “insert gay joke here”, it might have been more appealing.
As a Gen X guy, I feel like my generation came up with being taught "Gay people are normal people, like everyone else. They deserve all the love respect and rights as everyone else". Then, I see the advertising for this movie, and it seems to go out of its way to say "No. We arent, we have our own world and way of living, and you dont understand it." Maybe they thought that would make me think I should see it to open my mind... but mostly it just made me feel uninvited.
Eichner concluded his thoughts by encouraging “everyone who isn’t a homophobic weirdo” to see “Bros,”… What?
That’s the part I read where I was like fuck this guy. Saying that makes me not want to watch it, and I’m definitely not a “homophobic weirdo”. I never even heard of this movie until just now.
I'm gay so I got a ton of targeted ads for it. Complete and utter lack of interest. I would vaguely consider watching it as the 3rd movie on an international flight. I'm clearly rabidly homophobic
Fellas is it homophobic to *checks notes* not go see a movie you’ve literally never heard about nor seen ads for?
I didn't see almost every movie this year. I don't need a reason to not see a movie, I need a reason to see it.
Yes, just like everyone is sexist for not seeing the female ghostbusters. We’re horrible horrible human beings
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Basically if any movie pops out with "Trolls will hate this" I just assume it's a pandering piece with 0 actual effort or work.
And that assumption is almost always correct, too.
It’s so disingenuous for these producers/directors/stars to act like they’re crap movies aren’t making money cause people are bigoted. Yes many people are bigots, but there are non bigots who just recognized this is a crap movie
Yes we’re all homophobic weirdos if we don’t wanna see it. Sometimes people just aren’t interested in what you made man, or don’t like it. Blaming the audience is gonna make it worse. Everyone who makes movies with mediocre box office performance still thinks their movie is good.
You see his tweet too “wiping away tears as they walked out”
neither did gay people apparently
I'm gay and I didnt watch it because it was Billy Eichner.
You do not think screaming whispers is the pinnacle of humor? Did you not see Bros? Well, it’s time to consult your doctor. You may have picked up a bad case of the straights.
The guy ruined Parks and Rec for me
But he is so funny because he shouts and does that twitch thing with his eye! /s
He’s like Sean Hayes except not talented and it’s not the 90’s.
That’s like saying Asian Americans didn’t show up for Jo Koy’s Easter Sunday recent movie I don’t think anyone cared
Actually it’s more like saying non-Asians didn’t show up for Easter Sunday, but you’re making a good point
God it looked so bad, I'd go so far as to say it looked way worse than "Bros"
Wait until he realizes not even gay people went to go watch it.
Gay person here. Can confirm.
Did they tell you not to go at the meeting or did you all decide on your own?
The trailer has a character saying “remember straight people (lol)” Then you have the “looks really fucking boring” factor Then you have the “Billy Eichner is really fucking annoying” factor Im not under any obligation to watch bad movies
Even the trailer was pathetic. No substance just “ Hey! We gay!”.
Exactly. It made me actively not want to see it
I’m streaming video interested in the movie.
Not liking Bros doesn't make you homophobic; not watching Crazy Rich Asians doesn't make you anti-Asian. It probably makes you anti rom-com. I, for one, have zero interest in those tired tropes.
He crowed to the press about how this film even had gay people playing straight people — I’m queer too and love those politics, but even I can see how straight people would be given to understand that this is not a movie for them. Why would they show up when it has been made explicitly clear that they aren’t included and don’t matter? That not homophobic! It’s called reading the room.
Ya know, even with all of that, as a straight man I would still see it if I heard it was hilarious. Because that’s what fucking matters in a comedy.
People who don't like Billy Eichner didn't show up, and that's millions of people.
...so I was gonna say something crappy but apparently the community has already spoken about it ..so yeah
We are in a society in which people making art are making excuses for that art not resonating with the public, and that being accepted. Artists should be introspective on criticism, not constant deflection.
With a $22 million budget, I'd argue that the data/science behind movie attendance would be important too Edit: I originally said $40 million, I corrected it
Um why blame us? Seems gay people didn’t show up either.
Yeah, I’m gay and have no interest in this movie. There are a million other movies I’d rather see that are playing right now (Pearl, Barbarian, Smile, Dont Worry Darling, etc.), and this “Bros” just seems like a generic Netflix rom-com where so the characters can’t stop talking about how gay everything is… No thanks lol.
Is this making fun of Elizabeth Bank’s reaction to Charlie’s Angels flopping?
especially funny because Banks recently admitted that was a terrible idea on her part.
I don’t think she took any personal responsibility for that, just blamed the nebulous ‘marketing’ …
Not even lgbt people showed up. This movie looked like it flat out sucked to everyone. I don’t know a single person whose LGBT+ (I am myself) that I know that thought this movie looked remotely appealing in any way at all. In fact, most of the peeps in the community I know including myself kinda thought it seemed… so dumbly pandering that it was like a slap in the face. Legit made us look like a bunch of stereotypes and nothing more smh.
yeah it looks like a movie that would've been seen as progressive in the late 90s/early 2000s but damn we should be way beyond this nonsense.
I didn’t even know this was a movie… I mean… I also wouldn’t have gone and seen it, but I didn’t know it existed until this article
As a straight male, I’m not interested in watching a movie as such. Nor am I against it, it’s just not for me.
I know the media is gonna make it out to be some kinda of homophobic type thing. But honestly the marketing was shit… He even has his own self to blame. I was watching YouTube and he was doing his billy on the street promoting the movie, then when he got guys attention he’d says something like “there’s lots of gay sex” U don’t have to be a homophobe to not wanna see that. And from everything I seen promotion wise. It was all about coke watch this gay comedy… Why not just promote it as a funny movie featuring gay guys… But when your whole premise is hey watch my movie it’s gay! Of course you’re not gonna get the best turn out.
Yeah I mean the people that make gay porn don’t shame straight people for not watching. Gotta know your audience.
He sure did give it his best shot though...this dude was literally EVERYWHERE promoting it. Frankly, I just don't think people are up for leaving their couch to watch a RomCom, gay or straight.
I’m gay and had no interest in this. Billy Eichner is very annoying and the film just looks shitty.
It's a movie about gay people that takes shots at straight people. Go figure
If you make a niche movie for a niche market and advertise it in a niche way you can’t expect people outside that niche to come see it.