Ring in 2023 with a brand-spanking new episode of Cinema Very Gay! This week, Kevin and Jake watched one of the most talked about queer films of the year, Bros, directed by Nicholas Stoller and written by Stoller and Billy Eichner. This movie made movie history being the first gay romantic comedy to be released by a major studio (Universal), but had a stroke of backlash thanks to some overzealous publicity from star Billy Eichner. As Gawker put it, “Billy Eichner is the first gay man ever — or at least that’s what the ‘Bros’ marketing campaign would have you believe.” We had mixed feelings on how Bros measured up to the bar it set for itself, but can't deny some of the rom-com schmaltz that makes Judd Apatow productions so charming. Did Bros go deep enough into the intricacies of gay relationships, or did it open too many doors? Did Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane hold up as a leading duo? Was Lincoln our first gay president? This and more on our last episode of the year!
The magic carpet ride continues with our latest miniseries installment on queer-coded Disney villains with Jafar, the royal vizier of Agrabah in 1992's Aladdin. Jafar had an unctuous, devilish sneer that made him a deliciously memorable addition to the Disney villain canon. He might have tried to marry Jasmine, but we have a sssssneaking sssssuspicion he had some sssssecrets!
