Whoever thought that breakup is a gateway for men to ensure having a good ol’ time with their bros, which can turn into a good movie plot should have been stopped right there. Then you have the nerve to put “Based on a true story” disclaimer? If this is a true story, then I better stay away from the truth. The relentlessness of Bromates, directed by Court Crandall working with a tone-deaf screenplay by Chris Kemper, offers a torturous ride of unfunny jokes and annoying antics revolving around a pair of friends who move in together to get over their recent breakups.
We meet Sid (Josh Brener), and we already know that he will be dumped by his social media influencer girlfriend (played by Jessica Lowe) for the typical hunky neighbor next door (Flula Borg). He is a puppeteer, for some obscure reason, no one seems to know, until later. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to know. Now Sid has a constipated expression glued on his face forever and wears half-sleeve shirts and is passionate about solar energy. Any more annoying stereotypes needed to know that Sid will be despondent all his adult life? Then there is his friend Jonesie (Lil Rel Howery, of Get Out fame), who is dumped by his girlfriend (Nelcie Souffrant). The reason? She catches her with a stripper at his place in a sex swing. If it sounds funny, the credit goes to my words since the actual sequence is not.
These irresponsible, ignorant man-child end up as roommates – sorry bromates, together. Thus begins their journey as support systems for one another. Or so they say, as their fundamental plan is to get laid. They are also joined by their friends “Angry Mike” (Asif Ali) and “Runaway Dave” (Brendan Scannell), who support them in their misadventures without batting an eyelid. The cheeky attempt at better representation here is a total misfire. Jonesie is horrifically extroverted and out there with his actions, whereas his bromate Sid is the opposite – painfully shy and reserved. Throughout the course of their stay, this contrast gives rise to farcical scenarios that make it clear that both men are uninterested in anything else except themselves. They act foolishly and expect us, the audience, to laugh along. In one particularly bizarre moment, one of Jonesie’s used condoms gets stuck at the end of Sid’s dog and the men have to figure out how to remove it. Worse doesn’t even begin to say here.
Bromates gets creepy and downright offensive when it spins on an entirely ridiculous subplot that includes an impromptu trip to Texas to follow a girl named Darlene (Taryn Manning) that Sid has a soft spot for. There, out of nowhere, Snoop Dogg appears, playing himself. He can barely do as much given the credit. The rest of Bromates is just as random and incoherent as if patched up somehow to round off to a predictable end. One can barely save the film from itself, which seems to be peddling on with its stubborn sense of humor and churning out one bad joke after the other. Nothing makes sense after a while.
Heartbreaks are hard and real. They somehow bring out the worst in us in some ways, and in doing so, run close to situational comedy if looked at from a distance. But beneath the humor, there is an undercutting pain. Bromates understands nothing of heartbreak, to begin with. One doesn’t even register the relationship of these two men and they are now single in the next frame.
It’s so swift and so hurried, galloping ahead without an iota of investment in these characters. The real problem of Bromates is that it takes the audience for granted. It disposes of vulgarity and moronic characters in the name of comedy and entertainment. Rather than taking a dig at it, Bromates ultimately makes you angry and frustrated with the one-note performances and annoying plot that doesn’t know where it’s headed. The immaturity of the characters becomes tiring after a point. The comedy falls flat from the first scene and only rots as it progresses. Bromates has got nothing new to say about male friendships or about identity. All it does is make unnecessary noise in the name of comedy. To endure it is a task.
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Bromates (2022) Movie Trailer
Bromates (2022) Movie Links – IMDb
Bromates (2022) Movie Cast – Josh Brener, Lil Rel Howery, Brendan Scannell, Asif Ali, Jessica Lowe, Flula Borg
Where to watch Bromates
