Bromance goes from 'guy love' to MTV series

With Valentine's Day less than a month away, what better topic to discuss than love? We are not talking about just any love, but the love that binds us and brings us all together, much like the Force in "Star Wars" or the buzz following a fully consumed pitcher of shared beer. This, my friends, is what bromance, or Guy Love, is all about.

Do not be confused by the term "bromance" - it in no way implies a homosexual relationship between two men, although it is perfectly acceptable for one or both of them to be gay. No, bromanticism is about a nonphysical and eternal love one man can have for another man, and there's nothing gay about it. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

While the "bromance" movement has been growing progressively in the past 10 years, it has reached perhaps its widest audience with the new reality show on MTV, a spin-off of "The Hills" called "Bromance." The premise is that some pompous asshole from a stupid show got his own stupider show so he can find another pompous asshole to hang out with. It follows the traditional dating show format, with each week ending in some sort of challenge where guys who aren't cool enough to be in a brolationship get eliminated.

While calling the show the most latently homosexual show on television would be shooting fish in a barrel, I have opted instead to talk about this trend of bromanticism and ask why guys are all of a sudden cool with being close to each other without being, you know, queer or somethin'.

The earliest instance of popularized bromanticism in my memory is that of J.D. and Turk on "Scrubs." While I'm certain that there have been other bromances that predate "Scrubs," JD and Turk personify what is needed for a brolationship to function properly. All it takes is two guys who become friends and then, at some point, realize they are absolutely crazy about each other. When JD told Turk, "I miss you so much it hurts sometimes," we laugh, but at the same time, we know he means it.

Judd Apatow has also ushered in a slew of movies featuring bromances of one form or another. While movies like "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up" featured much male bonding and guy love, the one that will be remembered most for its bromantic elements is "Superbad." Who could forget the scene where Seth drunkenly proclaims, "I just want to go the rooftops and scream, I love my best friend Evan!" It's funny, but still kind of touching.

One could argue that because our culture is becoming more comfortable and open with our sexuality, we can now accept platonic love between two males as a societal norm. All of the gay subtext has been negated, and even macho dudes who see movies like "Superbad" for the dick and fart jokes can smile at the sight of two drunk high school seniors spooning in sleeping bags.

Coming out in March is a new comedy called "I Love You, Man." It stars Paul Rudd as a man who is about to get married, but has no close guy friends to be his best man. The film chronicles his search for the perfect man (friend), as he goes on a number of (man) dates to find "the one." It is most certainly the most blatant attempt at a bromantic comedy thus far. I'll be there to see it on opening weekend. Will I have a man date with me? You bet.