THE WORD ON POP CULTURE
  • Home
  • Movies
  • TV
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Pop Culture History
  • Shop

Fire Island

6/5/2022

0 Comments

 
by Julian Spivey
Picture: Bowen Yang and Joel Kim Booster in
Photo: Searchlight Pictures/Hulu
Director: Andrew Ahn
Starring: Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang and Conrad Ricamora 
Rating: R
Runtime: 1 hour & 45 minutes 
If you’re looking for a fun gay rom-com to celebrate Pride Month with “Fire Island,” directed by Andrew Ahn, which premiered on Hulu on Friday, June 3 might be up your alley.

“Fire Island” is the brain child of comedian/actor Joel Kim Booster, who not only wrote the screenplay for the film but also stars in the lead role as Noah. Now “Fire Island” is basically a modern, gay telling of Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice from what I understand but being the uncultured swine I am I can’t really tell you the ins and outs of how – but I didn’t need to know anything about Pride and Prejudice to still enjoy the movie. It seems that Booster’s Noah is a stand-in for Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, his best friend in the film Howie (played by Bowen Yang) is Jane Bennet and Will (played by Conrad Ricamora) is Mr. Darcy.

A group of friends led by Noah and Howie embark on a weeklong vacation to Fire Island, a famous gay escape destination of the southern shore of Long Island. Most of the group goes to party and get laid, but on this trip which seemingly will be the group’s last because their crash pad owned by their lesbian friend (and mother-like figure) Erin (played by Margaret Cho) will need to be sold as she’s out of money, Noah decides that he’s not getting laid until he ensures his BFF Howie does first. Howie isn’t as outgoing as Noah and much of the rest of their friend group and is looking more for the kind of long term relationship like you’d find in a rom-com than the kind of lusty adventurous found on Fire Island.

Howie quickly falls for Charlie (played by James Scully), a rich white doctor seemingly out of his league (apparently a stand-in for Charles Bingley in Austen’s novel). Charlie’s best friend is Will, an uptight lawyer who seems to be the only one not having fun on Fire Island. Will is looking out for his friend’s best interests and immediately rubs Noah the wrong way.

“Fire Island” is filled with many laughs and raunchy antics from the guys throughout, but what stood out to be almost from the very beginning was the sweetness involved – a necessity for a rom-com – both in the friendship of Noah and Howie, and especially later on when it becomes obvious there are feelings between Noah and Will.

I think the thing that stands out the most about “Fire Island,” and maybe this is something that would need to be confirmed by a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, is that it’s a mainstream (produced by Searchlight Pictures and distributed by - wait this can’t be right, can it? – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures) rom-com featuring a cast of entirely gay actors and actresses and is super gay in every way. It wasn’t all that long ago that a movie like this would’ve certainly had to have gone the independent route to be made and released. Now all you have to have is a Hulu subscription.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    July 2025
    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    August 2013
    December 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012


​
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Movies
  • TV
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Pop Culture History
  • Shop