Mere weeks after Confess, Fletch raised the bar for comedies in 2022, Bros clears it with a hearty cackle on its way over from co-writer/star Billy Eichner.

Helmed by co-writer Nicholas Stoller — director of some of the 2010s’ best broad comedies, including The Five-Year Engagement and the Neighbors films — Bros provides Eichner with a near-ideal cinematic leading man debut. Playing NYC podcaster Bobby, the Billy on the Street star brings his loud, semi-caustic charms to this commitment-phobe with a heart of gold, and the desire to see Bobby in a healthy relationship is all the story needs in terms of a conflict.

The fairly minimal stakes suffice thanks to the barrage of jokes that these talented screenwriters lob our way — gifts that keep on giving in a dialogue-heavy script that refuses to sit still. And when hunky Aaron (Luke Macfarlane) makes his way into Bobby’s life, the humor continues to evolve as their bond takes Bobby to new places and encounters with a range of friends and frenemies…and Debra Messing.

Along the way, mammoth laughs are earned via skewering prior onscreen gay depictions and, in a nod to Macfarlane’s past, Hallmark movies. Yet Eichner and Stoller also manage to weave in poignant reflections on the heartbreaking consequences of being an openly (or closeted) non-heterosexual person — revelations sure to have engaged LGBTQ+ viewers and allies fighting back tears (or, more realistically, letting them flow).

The twists and turns that Bobby’s and Aaron’s relationship take play out with thorough honesty, yet Bros is careful to keep its intelligent brand of hilarity at the forefront. The blend proves remarkably potent, to the point that one wishes the writers could have devised a less cliché means of ending the film. But even by taking the road heavily traveled in its climactic scenes, Bros still delivers big laughs through the inspired pairing of Eichner and Stoller, who will hopefully continue to work together for many years.

Grade: A-minus. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co., Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.

(Photo: Universal Pictures)