I’ll Hump You, Man: How Far Will the ‘Bromance’ Go?
by Carl KozlowskiWe’ve come a long way since tough-guy Humphrey Bogart let Ingrid Bergman away in “Casablanca,” only to tell another dude, “This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.” Or have we?
Today, we’re living in the age of the “bromance,” where guys are no longer squinty-eyed, deep-voiced bastions of macho attitude like Clint Eastwood or John Wayne or Bogart were. Now, we’ve got dudes who wear pastels and have feelings, sharing how much they care for each other, even waking up together instead of with the girl they were lusting after in “Superbad.”
Don’t get me wrong, these are mostly hilarious movies in which men are encouraged to be just a bit more sensitive. But one’s gotta wonder how far things are gonna go with the release of the new movie “Humpday,” which is now playing in “selected theaters” and is likely to stay that way no matter how “open minded” our society gets.
The premise of “Humpday” isn’t focused on a workplace slogging through the midweek boredom of a Wednesday in Cubicle Land. No, it’s about two straight guys – one married, one single – who are really great, old friends – so great, in fact, that one of them dares the other to make a porno together for an amateur porn contest where the goal is to break creative boundaries.
Yep, you read right. Two straight guys agree to see if they can team up for a porno in which they “do” each other. It’s definitely boundary-pushing, but what they don’t take into account is how it’ll affect the married guy’s marriage and how it’ll affect both their friendships when the big shoot is over.
“Humpday” actually deals with these topics head-on, and shows how all the confused messages in our anything-goes modern society could conceivably cause two guys who would normally never think about having gay sex to cross the “ultimate line,” Gov. Mark Sanford might say. The movie isn’t really about being gay or straight, but about how does one break out of the boredom of a square suburban life or conversely stave off the sadness of a life wasted in the pursuit of pure vagabond hedonism?
Yet it comes less than six months after the release of this spring’s hit comedy “I Love You Man,” in which a milquetoast yuppie played by go-to comedy prettyboy Paul Rudd has to find a best man after realizing he has no genuine guy friends. He’s set up on a series of de facto “man dates” to try and find the perfect best bud, only to find him in an alpha-male oddball played by Jason Segal.
By the end of the movie, the two are sharing the wedding, with Rudd and Segal telling each other “I love you, man” more than Rudd tells his own woman – the bride! – he loves her. It’s still a fun movie, exploring what it means to be a “real” man in today’s society, but it’s still hard to imagine The Duke or Dirty Harry ever climaxing a movie with a moment like that.
There’s a place for all these films, if you’re not unduly queasy by the underlying will-they-or-won’t-they premise of “Humpday.” But in an age where the modern action heroes like Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme are mostly pursuing more artistic movies or consigned to direct-to-video movie hell, a movie buff might wonder when they’re gonna be able to see a guy simply kick ass again.
Then again, maybe Bogey’s to blame for letting the girl go and telling the guy their friendship was beautiful. Perhaps that flinty exterior was hiding a sensitive heart all along.
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50 Comments
“bromance,”
Hahaha
That is great
This passes as entertainment now?
Sorry, I threw up right after finding out what the premise was and seem to need to re-read, with trashcan handy, the entire posting again. Real men don't shave their chest and undearms. Real men don't wear sissy pastels. It is gross. Just because some ad or tv program from H'wood tells you to do it, doesn't mean it's right. I watched "I Love You, Man" and there were some funny parts. However, the whole idea of man-dates and bromance is a disgusting premise that I hope dies a quick death.
take 2
This "bromance" movement needs to end. it isn't entertaining. and the sub genre of amateur pourn doesn't help.
does this garbage make money?
ew
No, no, a thousand times no! Oh duke and Clint, why have you foresaken us?
Tenn Jed, it wasn't Clint and the Duke who have foresaken us, it was damn Mad ave. and Hollywood. Put the blame where it lies!
So tired of the mainstreaming of pornography, so tired of sensitive males.
And have we not beaten the suburban boredom theme to death? When I think about the worst sh-tholes of the world — places where people live in absolute dirt-level poverty and are getting limbs chopped off in tribal wars and ritually raped — and realize that most people would give anything to be bored and suburban, it just galls the ever-living crap out of me.
Have we, as a society, become so fixated on feeling good instead of doing good that it's more acceptable to engage in casual sex for entertainment rather than, oh I don't know, volunteer, take art classes, exercise, spend time with your family, fix up your yard? If someone really wants to try living on the edge for a while, how about preaching the gospel in Cambodia? or cleaning up after a flood in Indonesia?
All this shows is that humanists are the most self-centered, boring, least imaginative people on the planet, and their loathesome values are infecting our culture. If God hadn't explicitly promised no more floods, I'd be donning my hip-waders about now.
John "Friggin" Wayne is rollin over in his grave
and here comes the "trollmance"
and next comes the "trollmance"
And I had to read this right after I read the article about Lee Marvin! No wonder I no longer go to movies!
"Bromance"…snicker…hehehe
Unfortunately…
I think I will pass on this "movie"…
and on a side note:
Oh where have all the real writers gone? Please come back, I am tired of this drival that seems to pass for a movie.
Another load of crap from Hollyweird. Hell I can't even find anything decent to rent anymore. I usualy end up renting old movies like Guns Of Navarone. And Hollywierd wonders why revenus are down LOL.
The word "bromance" ALONE is enough to send me into reflux.
about as much as movies critical of the Iraq war.
As a straight male, most of my friends are women. Most men I know are what I call "hyper stereotypical" males. I don't see anything wrong with not have a lot of male friends AND I'M NOT ASHAMED IN SAYING THAT. Having friends that are jerks can't really be friends.
For those who are interested, this is the 'agenda' about which some of us complain.
I've long stated, from back around the time "Brokeback Mountain" came out, that the true goal of the Hollywood pro-gay crowd was to 'gay up' all heterosexual male interaction, to the point that it becomes second nature to think of it alongside homosexuality. From inferring gay content in 'male' movies like 'Top Gun' to stuff like 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' to bringing homosexuality to the myth of the American cowboy to … this.
And people wonder why all the 'heroes' in our movies are idealized feminist women or metrosexual males. When you make male interaction immediately trigger a response of "that's so gay", that's what you get.
Can anyone over the age of 60 not understand why this country is on the fast track to hell? It's probably due to all the estrogen found in the public drinking water that comes from the urine of females who take birth control pills! Are there no men left in this country?
Nope, as i mentioned "Humpday" is very limited release and will stay that way. Already fading in Pasadena, one of its few theaters nationwide. This will be lucky to make a million bucks. SPOILER: THe guys don't actually do it by the way. The married guy realizes he's gotta go back and make peace with his wife, who found out about their scheme, and the single guy is left looking desperate about his life, alone in the hotel. But still yes the premise is ewww as many are saying. The reason i saw it was that often a small movie, even if it doesn't do well, can open the floodgates to larger-budget films with similar premises.
Wasn't advocating for it at all. I did say there were amusing parts because well, the dialogue is sharp and the performances are funny. It's in many ways a more extreme form of the awkward "Planes Trains & Automobiles" hotel scene.
EXACTLY. Filmmakers force this stuff on us despite the fact it doesn't make money. "Humpday"'s studio, Magnolia, has flop after flop of mostly weird crapola but stays afloat because it's owned at least partially by billionire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who thinks he's being artistic with his releases and doesn't care if he loses some dough.
"There's a place for these films"?
Where would that be, a garbage can? Do you enjoy being portrayed as a sodomite?
I don't know. I'm suspecting that this one will end up being like I Love you Beth Cooper and be DOA at the box office. Bromance is a term I hate but I agree with the general synopsis of it. Two guys who are really good friends, what's wrong with that? It's good if played straight like Chuck & Morgan on the show Chuck but the simple fact that they came up with such a dumb word for it makes me want to hurl.
I watched the Punisher last night. Twice.
I feel so much better today.
Y'know that old saying "sex sells"?
I don't think this rule applies to this…
It's kind of a silly premise, though, isn't it? At least one of the guys would have to be aroused by the idea in order to actually go through with it. Are those the two shmoes in the picture at the top of the page? Not exactly Brad Pitt, are they?
I mean, Brad Pitt is gorgeous. I'm just saying…
I'm with you. I like, maybe even love, buddy films and male-male friendships and really don't see what's wrong with it just because they gave it a cutesy, eyeroll-worthy name. It's people forming a bond with each other without the romance (except when they play it for laughs) – something I appreciate as a romantic who isn't all that entertained by relationships. This film, yes, takes it to an extreme I don't want to watch, but I don't think it signals some kind of depraved trend (other than "what kind of movie about porn hasn't been done yet?").
If I could FedEx a beerfart to the idiot that came up with this "post-sexist," service-the-LGBT-community lesson, I'd spend the 27.95 this instant.
And for STL DAN
Love what you've done with your little icon-thingy.
It's just reality that media jobs are over-represented by gay people, male or female. it skews the world view and limits the ability to think about the mass audience. the goal, as with political insiders, is to accomplish something that impresses your cocktail party buddies, not actually earn box office. espn programming has a gay programming head who brought in those melodramatic movies, for example. Okay, it beats boxing re-runs. OR does it?
to this story we have only one reply…
YIKES!…
Heck, the Duke is spinning like a Black & Decker drill … hook him up to a transformer, we could generate enough electricity to power a small suburb, easily.
I can just see the remake of the John Wayne (and others) "The Longest Day" Ok Girls, lets climb that hill and bi#ch slap those nazi's.
Dude, Bogart didn't "let her go"! He MADE her go. He sacrificed his own happiness for a greater good.
THAT is being a real man.
THIS ISN'T A HOLLYWOOD MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS AN INDEPENDENT FILM!!!!!!!!!!!!! GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!
Totally not interested.
But check out THURSDAY'S GAME with Bob Newhart and Gene Wilder about two married men who decide to keep hanging out together when their weekly poker game breaks up. Funny as hell! Some TV movie from the 70s.
For the last 12 years I have worked at Sundance Film Festival, and this year, no fewer than seven films , from "Humpday" to the award winning "Everything Strange and New" contained themes of a straight man engaging in Oral Sex with a longtime straight male friend.
Coincidence, you ask? A byproduct of Sundance's largely gay Programmers, you ask? None of the above. This year, a gay media millionaire and the GLBT groups offered Producers a six figure stipend for any movie containing a scene that depicted exactly the above.
I'm the Historian, and that's history.
Gross.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Sorry, didn't mean to cackle so loudly but it's clear that the trend I've been watching for years in tv fandom has carried over to film. Men can no longer be "just friends."
I became aware of all this from Highlander fandom back in '97. Discovered that for a lot of (mostly female) writers, Duncan McLeod wasn't just an action hero with great martial arts skills, a wicked way with a katana, and a habit of ending up in the sack with gorgeous ladies. He was – in fanfic, at least – the gayest of blades!
And it goes on…. I mean, c'mon, how did y'all miss the "Isn't It Bromatic?" cover of Entertainment Weekly last spring featuring Hugh Laurie and Sean Patrick Leonard (House/Wilson)? I still think it was a big shout-out to the House/Wilson slash communities, since the "House" writers seem to take great delight in ttillating viewers with slashy innuendo. And it's retroactive. Don't believe me? Trying Googling "Holmes/Watson slash fic". Go on. I dare ya!
Oh that's it! Thanks for the news. Now why is there no decent reporting on this kind of thing any more?
I'd Love to See an Air-Strike Called in on Hollyweird.
What the hell? What the Super hell??
Will this help people at all, to admit that Hollywood has their own agenda?
Between the anti-American, it's ok to be gay, religion sucks, soldiers are really all demented rapists, and corporations are the root of all evil 'movies' that Hollywood consistently loses money on – is it evident to people at all???
…The trend I've been watching for years in tv fandom has carried over to film. Men can no longer be "just friends".
This is at the core of the problem, I think. Far from being "more sensitive", I think these men are incapable of expressing their friendship in non-sexual ways. Revisionists look to the friendship between David and Jonathan in the Bible and claim that they were homosexual lovers. I can't help but wonder if – apart from having a socio-political agenda to advance – this is because they cannot conceive of a non-sexual friendship between two men that goes deeper than adolescent chumminess. And judging by the way most movies deal with romantic relationships (it's not real until they have sex), I think they've got a serious problem telling the difference between love and lust.
This strikes me as deeply unhealthy. People want to talk about inhibitions that our society is held in thrall to – I think this is one.
(But I've seen what you're talking about, too – slash fiction goes back at least as far as the original Star Trek TV series, with Kirk-Spock pairings…)
I love that we can read that and say "ew" without getting ripped apart for being insensitive or soulless.
Whatever happened to people just being friends??? Rawr.
Um. Care to provide a source on that claim? If that's true, I'm speechless, but I'd like to know your source and look into this myself. Sounds like it could be BS.
"a movie buff might wonder when they’re gonna be able to see a guy simply kick ass again."
The action/testosterone-fest "The Expendables" will be opening soon!
Vic
[...] Big Hollywood » Blog Archive » I’ll Hump You, Man: How Far WillYet it comes less than six months after the release of this spring’s hit comedy “I Love You Man,” in which a milquetoast yuppie played by go-to comedy prettyboy Paul Rudd has to find a best man after realizing he has no genuine guy friends. [...]
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