The gay brother that Andy Samberg plays in the bromantic comedy, “I Love You, Man” represents the straight guy’s idea of the new gay male: a down-to-Earth, 100% straight acting dude who hangs out with his Pops and tosses out ridiculous frat boy handshakes.
Samberg’s shaggy hair is the only thing gay about him, since it probably takes hours to get it to look so effortlessly disheveled. And there’s his mouth, which, to quote Dan Savage could suck a dick “sideways”. Sadly, we never get to see that since in the grand scheme, he’s just a new example of the classic gay eunuch; shrewdly perceptive and sexually adroit but never seen actually kissing or touching another man. It’s really just Andy Samberg playing himself and pretending to like dudes, without having to wear a kimona or clutch a pet cat.
Playing against type does not hold up with the character’s gay bowling league compadres, who can be found in the deleted scenes as your stereotypical gay jokes: a gaggle of femme-y queens in popped collared polos and fuschia skinny legged jeans.
The fact that the character has given up dating gay men for the thrill of bagging heterosexuals is right on tone with the movie, which is about a straight man searching for a platonic relationship with another straight man. During this pro-hetero journey, Thomas Lennon is picked up along the way as a gay guy who mistakenly assumes the main character is gay. He’s a cleanly dressed babbler with a smarmy vibe, a more tightly wound version of the amorphously gay character Lennon played on “Reno 911″. He has a hard time letting go until the wedding scene at the end, where -in one shot- he makes eyes at Samberg, who of course is blissfully uninterested in the one other gay guy in the room.
Currently Watching: “Mr. Belvedere”; Season 3, Episode 1
Currently Wearing: Blue and white raglan sleeved jersey, Gap jeans, Nikes.