Two years later, bromantic comedy reached a new apogee on the "Seinfeld" episode "The Stall" in which the avowedly hetero George (portrayed by Jason Alexander) confounds his friends by developing an ardent but platonic man crush on Elaine's mountain climber boyfriend, Tony. The exchange, which had the effect of opening a kind of cultural Pandora's box, goes like this:
Jerry: "You know, I think George has a nonsexual crush on him."
Elaine: "I think he does too."
Jerry: "I mean, every time I see him, it's Tony this, Tony that. George is like a schoolgirl around him. . . ."
Kramer: "You know, I think you're in love with him."
George: "What? That's ridiculous!"
Kramer: "No no no, I don't think so. You love him."
A deeper bromance
STRIPPED OF its copious ganja smoke, surreal violent action sequences and R-rated humor, the Apatow-produced "Pineapple Express" packs added comedic wallop by following the most defiantly bromantic plot trajectory of any film: boy meets boy, boy loses boy, boy gets boy after all.
In the film, James Franco plays against type as a grungy, spacey pot dealer who must go on the run with one of his clients (Seth Rogen) after being pinpointed by a criminal gang for witnessing a murder. In this crucible of adversity, the spark of bromance ignites, then falters when Rogen's character questions the dealer-buyer bond on which their friendship has been established.
"The bromance, I think, plays on the fact that men are generally inarticulate about their feelings, are generally uncomfortable about expressing their feelings for one another and with intimacy," Franco said. "The movie gets a lot of humor out of that."
He added: "The actual hetero romance of Seth and his girlfriend have the opposite trajectory of a normal romance. It has them starting together and moving apart."
As the cultural recognition of platonic man love spreads from movies back to the small screen, it seems only fitting that MTV should become the first basic cable outlet to open the kimono on bromantic comedy's rich reality television potential. In June, the network gave a six-episode commitment to an unscripted series called "Bromance" that will center on the efforts of Brody Jenner (son of Olympic athlete Bruce and the jocular ladies man late of MTV's hit reality series "The Hills") as he auditions dudes to fill the "bro" vacancy in his life; his acrimonious falling out with former wing man and best friend Spencer Pratt was assiduously detailed on "The Hills" and in the tabloid press.
Employing the standard reality dating show conventions on display in shows such as "The Bachelor" and "Farmer Wants a Wife," the objective in "Bromance" is more than simply a shot at love: The show's winner will be invited to become a member of Jenner's freewheeling entourage, while the losing contestants get ejected via a "hot tub elimination ceremony."
Speaking to Variety, Seacrest, one of "Bromance's" producers, made a case not only for the cultural validity of the phenomenon but also its influence as something more eternal. "I can speak from experience," Seacrest said. "Girls can come and go, but a 'bromance' can last forever."
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chris.lee@latimes.com
