by Austen Terry, Contributing Writer
This year, at the beginning of Pride Month, Hulu dropped a new original film from Searchlight Pictures called Fire Island. This film might possibly become my new favorite rom-com, but warning though: it is a hard R-rated movie, so keep that in mind. If you are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, this film is a must-see. From the humor, to the drama, to the story, it is a great date night watch, especially during Pride Month. Fire Island is a real island off the coast of Long Island, New York — it is a notable gay and lesbian resort in the areas of Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines (“We’re going to Fire Island. It’s like gay Disney World.”). Fire Island seems like a turn party comedy movie, but it quickly brings out the romance to become a truly great rom-com. In this movie, gay characters are the main characters, unlike rom-coms from the past where gay characters are delegated to the sidelines as clichés, stereotypes, or caricatures of themselves.
Fire Island is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, where a group of friends get together every year for a week-long trip to Fire Island. This year might be their last, so Noah (Joel Kim Booster) agrees to help his best friend Howie (Bowen Yang) find a hookup or partner for the week before even finding someone for himself. Noah and Howie have other friends to help in their endeavors, including Luke (Matt Rogers), Keegan (Tomas Matos), Max (Torian Miller), and their claimed group mom Erin (Margaret Cho). Howie quickly becomes infatuated with Charlie (James Scully) and Noah has two men pulling at his attention in Will (Conrad Ricamora) and Dex (Zane Phillips). This movie is a lot of fun, but is extremely adult with heavy language, sexual content, and drug use throughout, so be warned if that’s not your cup of tea.
Andrew Ahn directs, and Booster writes along with starring in the movie — the two of them work well together in telling this reimagining of a classic tell, but the film does fall into the classic rom-com tropes, those tropes being romantic partners fighting or breaking up, friends fighting and breaking up, and of course a big romantic gesture. Naturally, with movies like this, you need to take your audience on this style of ride because that’s what works for storytelling purposes. The film might have gone over the top for me if it strayed more away from the same formulaic rom-com pattern. However, it is still great, and the story truly relates to the experience of being gay and being broke at an event like this where you want to have fun and let loose. The other excellent thing about this film is not just that it’s amazingly inclusive, but the diversity as well. Ahn and Booster are really rocking the rom-com boat here in telling an amazing story that seems both genuine and authentic.
I always talk about chemistry in movies because you can have the biggest budgets and all the bells and whistles you want, but if your actors’ chemistry doesn’t flow, then to me, the movie just won’t work. Our main group of boys does feel like they have been friends for 10-plus years, and have had all these experiences they talk about in the movie. Yang and Scully work great together, and you are rooting for them to come out of this story together. As well, I immediately knew I wanted Booster and Ricamora together, because they play off each other’s sarcasm so well. Everyone is on their A game here, and it truly translates to the screen to make this story that much better.
For those who aren’t within the LGBTQIA+ community, this movie definitely won’t be up your alley, but it truly is a classic love story. This movie is definitely a gay anthem, and again, it’s the perfect movie to watch during Pride Month. I found myself at first sympathizing with the character Will as someone who is seemingly brought there and doesn’t want to be there. I eventually realized and saw myself not as Will, but as Howie, because I’m also 30 and struggling with not being in a relationship, and haven’t been in one in a while. I felt Howie’s desire to not be like his friend Noah, who clearly just wants sex, but to find a boyfriend to have a relationship.
This movie dives deep into gay culture and is way better off for it, because it truly shows what can happen during events like this. I am so glad to have watched this movie, and being a pansexual non-binary human being myself, there’s no better way to kick off Pride Month than getting to watch a really good rom-com. I have been a big fan of rom-coms my whole life, and this one is top tier for me. So to all those out there in the community wondering about this movie, go watch it — you will laugh, cry, and be overwhelmed with love. I want to wish everybody within the LGBTQIA+ community a Happy Pride Month, and I am looking forward to finally getting to go to my first Pride Festival this month.
Score: 8/10
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