Over time, terms are ousted from our lexicon (for example, “blame it on the rain”) and others are welcomed, such as “bromance,” which is increasingly used in reference to close male relationships.
Spates of recent articles have detailed Patriots fans’ bromantic relationship to Tom Brady. Were “bromance” listed in an illustrated dictionary, the accompanying sketch would be that of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon at their giddy, cringe-y Academy Award acceptance squealing.
And now the concept is being explored in sketch group Negative Infinity’s “Dude! A Bro-Mantic Comedy,” which mines humor from male-male non-sexual relationships. One sketch imagines a fantasy draft for relatives rather than football players. There is a eulogy for a wingman. Two buddies go to couples therapy where one cries, “Do you know when the last time you called me dude was?”
It’s funny stuff, surprisingly. The opposite of the tired “men are dolts” shtick. Rather, the humor comes from the flipside, exposing how men are caring, quick to bruise and eager to forgive. It’s bromantic comedy.
“Bromance is a bond between straight guys that could be deeper than brothers’ relationships,” explained writer/actor Josh Patton, who added that gay men could share a bromance if the relationship were non-sexual. “There are some of the same qualities of a romantic relationship — you talk all the time, you finish each other’s sentences — but there’s no dating involved. Well, there kind of is, but there’s no kiss at the end of the night.”
“We do a lot of things that, were it a guy and a girl, people would call it a date,” added Nate Chetty, who wrote most of the material with Patton.
The 23-year-olds have great chemistry onstage, too, mirroring that of classic Hollywood bromantic couples such as Ponch and John, Tarzan and Cheetah, and Milli and Vanilli.
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“Dude!” plays the next two Wednesdays at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, 777 N. Green St. (312-733-6000). So take your significant brother.