If you haven’t seen Billy Eichner’s brilliantly funny romantic comedy Bros yet, you’re missing out (straight folks, we’re talking to you). The film is not only an absolute delight, but it’s a moment in LGBTQ history as the first film featuring an entirely LGBTQ cast. Eichner, the first openly gay man to write and star in the first major studio gay romcom, emphasized the importance of showcasing queer diversity both onscreen and on set (with a mostly LGBTQ crew). And his mandate set a ripple effect for the rest of the cast, creating a queer and inclusive environment that encouraged everyone to be themselves.
Actress, comedian, and singer Ts Madison, who plays LGBTQ museum board member Angela in the film, said “To show up on set and it was just so many queer people, so many LGBTQIA-plus — all the letters people — I felt very comfortable, … I have been in some situations where I’ve worked on a set where it was very uncomfortable. I couldn’t really be myself. Where it was just like I’m gonna tear this place up. But when we showed up to work it felt like we were at home with our family. This was a breath of fresh air.”
Miss Lawrence, who plays fellow museum board member Wanda, noted “I’ve done a few projects, but I’ve always been the one or one or two people in the LGBTQ community. This time around, being able to be a part of a cast that is made up of every one of those letters — in front of the lens and behind the lens, the production crew, you name it — I didn’t have to carry that impostor syndrome with me when I went to work this time, … I walk into a space, usually, and feel like I have to over-perform, over-project or over-exert because I feel like so many people don’t think I belong there. I didn’t feel that this time.”
Madison added that Eichner and co-writer/director Nicholas Stoller took their roles seriously, and prioritized showing a nuanced look at the LGBTQ community. “Billy and Nick, they are two white men, and they went to Universal and pitched the movie with Bobby as the lead surrounded by a cast of other LGBTQIA people, … They knew that they had the duty and the obligation to bring people of color and other diverse identities to the table and they did that. They could have not done that. Billy understood the assignment.”
Bros is currently playing in theaters.
(via The Hollywood Reporter, featured image: Universal Pictures)
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