In my review for A Nice Indian Boy (2025), I noticed that that film made a reference to Bros (2022), a flick marketed as the first major Hollywood studio production to center on a same-sex male romance. Bros didn't do well in the box office, but it seems to have made a mark and might now be building a legacy in the filmmakers who are following and who have clearly been influenced. Writer-director Max Talisman seems to be one such influenced. His references might not be directly to Bros. They could simply be to any number of romantic comedies.
Talisman stars as Zack Anthony, an aspiring writer living in New York City. He's openly gay. He's dating various men, but he hasn't been all that lucky or hasn't gotten a regular boyfriend. This could be due to his personality. He has a wry or sardonic sense of humor that can read as condescending or smug, which could be a turn off. His last sexual partner tells Zack that he's turned off. It might have less to do with Zack's personality and more to do with Zack's actual and physical person. Zack is overweight and borderline obese. He's self-described as fat and ugly. Yet, he's not really lacking in self-esteem because despite his weight, he is seemingly having regular sex.
This is probably the first reference to Bros. The protagonist in Bros, played by Billy Eichner, had body image issues. Eichner's character wasn't overweight, but he did have other issues, regarding how masculine and muscular he may or may not be, which is akin to Zack's weight issue. Yet, it's not much of an issue for Zack past the opening scene. In fact, Zack's weight doesn't pose a problem for the rest of the film. The film simply becomes about depicting a gay romance with the lead being what's known in gay male parlance as a "bear." There was a smaller, independent film called Big Boys (2024) by Corey Sherman that teased this possibility, but it was more a coming-of-age story than a legitimate romance.
Joey Pollari (Love, Simon and American Crime) co-stars as Zack Mandel, an assistant at a talent agency, also in NYC. He works for an agent whom he doesn't like, but he keeps trying to impress her with musicians or artists that he keeps recommending to her. He has a boyfriend, but he's bored in his relationship. His co-worker and possible best friend identifies that he has identity troubles, as well as confidence troubles, which likely stems from conflicts with his homophobic father, played by Eric Roberts (Star 80 and Runaway Train). Zack Mandel describes himself as a turtle. He can retreat to his shell.
Unlike a lot of studio romantic comedies or rom-coms in general, there is no gimmick here and the premise isn't predicated on a lie or some kind of deception. There is a misunderstanding that happens later, but it's refreshing that the characters here are simply open and honest with each other about their feelings. The only real stumbling block is Zack Mandel's anxiety or self-doubts over his aforementioned troubles. It's ironic because Zack Mandel is arguably the better looking of the two named Zack, but he's the least confident.
Jackie Cruz (Orange is the New Black) is the standout among the supporting cast. She plays Ava, the co-worker of Zack Mandel. What makes Zack Mandel's situation more ironic is Ava is the most supportive friend and yet Zack Mandel still feels like he's the least supported. Ava gets a good chunk of funny lines, but even some sharp dramatic ones. The best of which is when she complains about Zack Mandel's conversations being all about him. She also complains that he isn't curious about her life at all. The film isn't all that curious either. She drops nuggets about herself, but the film never follows her outside of her interactions with the two named Zack. One doesn't even realize that she's a lesbian until the very end. It's a good way to underscore Zack Mandel being lost in his own head and being selfish, but to do so, it does shortchange Ava. Yet, the film gives her moments to pop and be a scene-stealer.
It's enjoyable seeing a bear or a plus-size gay man as the romantic lead in a theatrical release. It's good to see a bear be romantic, period. Arguably, BearCity (2010) by Doug Langway was one of the most recent examples, though there was also a web series called Where the Bears Are (2012) by Rick Copp and Ben Zook that made plus-size gay men the main love interests. What Langway's film did and what Copp and Zook's series did were not only let bears be romantic, but also they let gay bears be sexual and be the objects of lustful desire.
In a queer film or series, lustful desire means simply allowing the bears to be shirtless, if not more so. This film doesn't do that, meaning Talisman stays covered. There are scenes where it's implied that Zack Anthony has had sex, but we never see Talisman shirtless. Zack Anthony's sexual partners like Ben, played by James Leon, a very muscular Black man, and Zack Mandel who is very much attractive, as he could be described as a twink, are both great eye-candy. Yet, it's a shame that we couldn't appreciate Talisman's Zack Anthony as eye-candy too. I understand that Talisman probably didn't want to make the focus of his film to be about body shame like Eytan Fox's Yossi (2013) or Ringo Le's Big Gay Love (2014). That's fine, but a scene where we see body appreciation for him would've been great.
Not Rated but contains sexual situations and language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 39 mins.
In theaters.