Weekend Watch: Bros, Hocus Pocus 2
Guy love and wicked havoc.
Image Credit: Universal
Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, Billy Eichner’s podcaster falls in love and the witches of Salem are back with more magic. Follow James on Twitter: @jamwhite
There has been a serious dearth of big studio comedy movies in the last couple of years. With diminished returns from the box office, the genre has, like mid-budget dramas, migrated mostly to streaming.
Yet it can still surprise us, and in the case of Bros, it’s a delightful, successful surprise.
Co-written, produced and starring Billy Eichner, this is the story of Bobby (Eichner) a podcaster and LGBTQ+ museum board member who is seemingly happy living the single life.
Yet amidst all the anonymous hook-ups and app-based encounters, it’s starting to dawn on him that maybe, just maybe, something is missing in his life. And that’s when he meets Aaron (Luke MacFarlane), a hunky probate lawyer who Bobby isn’t initially sure about, but soon enjoys hanging out with, much to his surprise.
Directed and co-written by Nicholas Stoller, Bros is that rare comedy with something to say as well as making you laugh. It has a viewpoint in keeping with the film’s status as the first cine-comedy from a major studio to put LGBTQ+ people to the forefront, to the point of casting pretty much everyone on screen from the community.
Bobby’s belief in bringing queer and trans stories to light also leads to part of the film’s focus, but never pulling focus away from its primary function as an enjoyable, funny rom-com. It follows some familiar beats but has more than enough invention and surprise to make this a memorable night at the movies.
Eichner, of course, is great in the lead, fully grasping the chance to be more than just a side character (something he’s rarely had besides on shows such as Difficult People). His Bobby is a snarky, yet sweet guy, while Macfarlane brings plenty of nuance to Aaron.
Around them, they’ve built a quality ensemble that defies stereotypes and provides plenty of zingers.
Bros is a welcome chance to laugh. Some audiences might be shocked by the frank discussion about, and depiction of, gay sex, but then they probably wouldn’t be seeing it anyway. Their loss.
Bros is in US cinemas from today and arrives in the UK on 28 October.
Image Credit: Disney+
1993’s Hocus Pocus is more of a cult hit than it was ever truly a success at the box office or with critics. A lightweight fantasy tale of three witchy sisters (Bette Midler’s Winifred, Sarah Jessica Parker’s Sarah and Kathy Najimy’s Mary) who cause havoc in the town of Salem centuries after they were hanged by scared citizens for their magical crimes was primarily memorable for the three leads’ enthusiastic performances.
Yet since its release, it has grown a strong following, landing on the re-watch list for many families as spooky season rolls around. The perfect piece of Intellectual Property, then for Disney to pull from the archives and revisit.
Hocus Pocus 2 is not a remake, though it follows a lot of familiar beats. We start by turning the clock back to the past, even further beyond the original’s opening, to find the Sandersons as young women, first discovering their power. Nudged along by a witch they meet in the woods (a gloriously committed Hannah Waddingham, who redefines the term “understood the assignment”), they start to dabble in magic, and you know the story from there.
Like in the original film, a black flame candle and young person (in this case Whitney Peak’s Becca) are involved in accidentally bringing the Sandersons back to cackling life, and this time they’ve designs on additional power so even the sunrise can’t take them down.
Becca will need the help of best friend Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) and estranged pal Cassie (Lilia Buckingham), to figure out what it’ll take to banish the sisters back where they came from. Along the way, they get some help from the zombified Billy Butcher (Doug Jones, who, like Midler and co, appeared in the original) and will have to save the Mayor (Tony Hale) who has an ancestor with connections to the Sandersons’ origin story.
Director Anne Fletcher and writer Jen D’Angelo keep things light and funny, and the cast dig out the entertainment value, even those playing smaller, less showy roles than the witches.
Yet it really has the spark when Midler, Parker and Najimy are playing off each other, channelling the Three Stooges but adding their own layer of sibling bickering.
Much like the 1993 original, this is by no means a classic. Yet it also earns a place in future family movie marathons with plenty of comedy and enough gentle frights to keep the kiddies jumping.
Hocus Pocus 2 is on Disney+ now.