Fire Island (2022)

A pair of best friends set out to have a legendary week-long summer vacation with the help of cheap rosé and a group of eclectic friends.

5.0 / 5

INCLUVIE SCORE

4.0 / 5

MOVIE SCORE

Representation

Asian

LGBTQ

Melissa Gould

June 8, 2022

5 / 5

INCLUVIE SCORE

4 / 5

MOVIE SCORE

'Fire Island' — The Newest Rom-Com Putting The Pride In 'Pride and Prejudice'

Fire Island is Hulu's most recent romantic comedy and the latest spin on the Jane Austen classic, Pride and Prejudice. Sadly, great LGBTQ+ films are still somewhat difficult to come by, especially ones with happy endings. "Bury Your Gays" is a popular phrase for the entertainment industry's tendency to give LGBTQ+ characters a bad ending: such as death, heartbreak, turning straight, or worse. While some sad endings are narratively justified, it's such a common ending that finding a happy gay couple is exciting, and Fire Island is just that movie. The film takes inspiration from New York's real Fire Island, which has been home to a gay resort and afternoon tea dances since the 1950s. It follows the friendship of 5 gay men spending their last summer together at the resort, while also attempting to hook up along the way. While it certainly has its flaws, this is a wonderfully diverse addition to LGBTQ+ film! The movie pulls you in right off the bat, as a gay men's chorus sings the Searchlight Pictures tune, off-key. There is hardly a single moment where the humor takes a break. The strength of the comedy can be off-putting to some, hence, the reviews of Fire Island are quite mixed. It especially focuses on sexual, club-crawling humor and LGBTQ+ jargon, situations, and jokes that the general public could get lost on. However, I have not seen a single rom-com that isn't over-exaggerated, it's just part of the genre. That being said, this movie employs many staples of rom-coms including a dance scene, a karaoke sing-a-long, party games, walking on the beach, and even the ever-loved chasing your love before they leave trope. Although these are common tropes, they're used in refreshing ways, and it truly feels like this movie was made by people with these lived experiences. The director explains: You might be wondering how this is related to Pride and Prejudice

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Fire Island is a More Inclusive Rom-com than The Thing About Harry

June 11, 2022

Is it just me or did other members of the LGBTQIA+ community also wish for a queer re-telling of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice or specifically a queer version of the 2005 film which is based on the famous novel? If so, director Andrew Ahn may just have made your wish come true. Being called a gay version of Austen’s classic, Fire Island, which was released recently on Hulu is a rom-com written by comedian Joel Kim Booster and directed by Andrew Ahn. It’s less dramatic and more comic in its tone as compared to Pride & Prejudice, but Fire Island has its fair share of romantic twists and turns. And if you’ve been following gay romances, you might be reminded of 2020’s Peter Paige directorial feature The Thing About Harry. Yes, that wasn’t technically a gay rom-com since one of the characters was pansexual but considering the romantic tribulations of the same-sex romance explored there, the films can be grouped together.

Fire Island follows a group of gay friends Noah (Joel Kim Booster), Howie (Bowen Yang), Luke (Matt Rogers), Max (Torian Miller) and Keegan (Tomás Matos) as they meet together for their annual trip to Fire Island. It’s an island close to Long Island, where they meet for a week of relaxing and having s*x. Noah refers to it as gay Disneyland. There are literally no straight people on the island during the week that they stay at the house of their host Erin (Margaret Cho) who is a lesbian herself. She tells them she may have to sell the house because she’s broke. Amidst the sorrow at that news, they try to make the most of their time at the island, with Noah promising to help Howie have a promiscuous time. That’s how they meet Charlie (James Scully) and Will (Conrad Ricamora), and their rich upper-class friends. The film shows the misadventures caused by the romantic repercussions of this meeting.

The Thing About Harry tells the story of Sam (Jake Borelli), an openly gay man as he drives to a friend’s engagement party with his high school bully Harry (Niko Terho). During the drive and their stay at a motel on their way to the party, Harry reveals that he’s pansexual and in fact used to have a crush on Sam. They bond deeply over the course of that night, only for Harry to abandon Sam the next day when his ex-girlfriend returns. Sam, who is getting over a heartbreak himself, doesn’t take this well. His best friend Stasia (Britt Baron) takes it upon herself to help him find someone on Valentine’s Day and Sam and Harry meet each other again at a party. However, Sam judges Harry, and eventually, they end up arguing. Sam leaves, nonetheless fonder of Harry, but clearly lying to himself about his growing love for Harry. The enemies-to-lovers story is the focus of the film that spans over at least two, if not more, years and has similarities with classic cishet rom-coms like My Best Friend’s Wedding and When Harry Met Sally.

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