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Bros: After The Screaming Stops (2018)

Documentary review: After The Screaming Stops (2018), directed by Joe Pearlman and David Soutar

tl;dr: It’s AMAZING, seriously.

Bros were a British band from the late 1980s who achieved great success around the world. In 1992 they went their separate ways. The two brothers, twins Luke and Matt Goss, have since resurfaced with very different careers. Matt has been a resident entertainer on the casino circuit in Las Vegas, while Luke has starred in a number of films.

I was ten years old when Bros split, and since my sisters weren’t Brosettes in the late 80s, the band wasn’t even on my radar. Basically, Bros means as much to me as the capital of Austria does to Ultravox. Why, then, would I want to watch a documentary about them? Aside from quite liking Luke Goss as an actor, I heard about the documentary on Twitter and when I saw it was on BBC over the holidays I thought I’d give it a go, and I’m glad I did.

The documentary follows the brothers as they prepare to reunite for a big gig at the O2 in London. It’s not easy for either of them, for various reasons. They were so young when they achieved worldwide fame and it basically wrecked them, as people as well as brothers. There’s bickering, there’s reminiscing, there’s rehearsing … NME described it as “part Spinal Tap, part The Office, part Alan Partridge (and even, at points, somewhat poignant)”. And that’s the point – it’s very touching, while also being so absurdly funny at times you think you’re watching some kind of parody … except you’re not.

“The letters H-O-M-E are so important because they personify the word home.”

You’re not. There are surprisingly many surreal quotes, you really have to see it to believe it.

It doesn’t matter if you love(d) or hate(d) Bros as a band, or are/were totally indifferent to them, this documentary is GOLD, honestly. If anything, it’s a shame we don’t get to learn more about Bros the band (I looked up on Wikipedia why the third guy quit and when), but then that’s not the remit of the documentary. It’s the story of a couple of brothers, twins, and them finding their way back to each other.

And I’m happy that I can also like Luke Goss as a person and not just an actor. He seems nice. I mean, they both seem like nice people, but he’s perhaps slightly more down-to-earth of the two …

5 out of 5 bandannas.

Traxy

An easily distracted and over-excited introvert who never learns to go to bed at a reasonable time. Enjoys traveling (when there's not a plague on), and taking photos of European architecture. Cares for cats, good coffee and Boardwalk Empire. A child of her time, she did media studies in school and still can't decide what she wants to be when she grows up.

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