A classic becomes a classic once again
View this video on YouTube
***This review contains mild spoilers***
Adapting a classic takes a lot of nerve. Not only to try to even come close to the greatness of the original, but to add something that makes it unique and necessary for the adaptations to even be made in the first place.
Luckily, Fire Island is not only a great adaptation, but a new LGBTQ+ film classic that beautifully translates queer culture to the screen, using its Pride and Prejudice roots to tell a masterful story about race, class, and love against all odds. Fire Island is the rare film that shows the best and worst of the queer community through a story told on queer terms.
Fire Island is director Andrew Ahn’s third feature film, with the script by Joel Kim Booster also in his first starring role. The film is a rare rom-com that puts the power of its storytelling in its smaller moments, with its actors giving flawless performances, while still staying true to its queerness.
As we meet Noah’s best friend Howie, played by the exceptional Bowen Yang, along with their other chosen family, including Margaret Cho, Matt Rogers, Tomás Matos, and Torien Miller, we also meet the true Fire Island and the unfortunate truths of the gay scene dominated by white buff gay men looking for sex.
Pride and Prejudice gets yassified
The film follows Noah, our narrator and guide to Fire Island, the long-time gay hotspot destination, who learns that it will most likely be his friends' last time together on the island.
Wanting to go out with a bang, literally and figuratively, Noah tries to help his bestie Howie get laid, until they meet Charlie, played by James Scully, a doctor who seems too good to be true while bringing his cohort of unfriendly friends into Noah's orbit.
As Noah keeps Charlie's uptight friends at bay while trying to play matchmaker for his bestie, the divisions of a place like Fire Island, where mean, classist, and racist gay white men who want one night of fun and drugs over happily-ever-after are more common than COVID.
While I don’t think the film needed a narrator, it excels at showing the present-day realities of being a queer man, where sex and a good-looking body prevail as power, with wealth and whiteness underlying everything.
A queer film on queer terms
The film shows its teeth early on, with one character reciting the gross, but common Grindr bio adage "no fats, no femmes, no Asians" in the first couple of minutes, which may sound extreme to those not on Grindr, but very familiar to those anywhere across the world who have used it.
These searing tidbits picked from present-day gay culture are sprinkled constantly throughout the movie, threading the romance plots of Austen’s original work wonderfully with the eccentrics of modern queer life at its center.
As a gay man, there are tons of references to modern queer culture that surprised me, simply because 99.9 percent of movies put out would never come close to referencing.
The film is full of queerness, in ways that will surprise even the queerest of viewers, as it shows an honest look at what it means to be a queer person today.
Joel Kim Booster makes his mark
It may not seem like Joel Kim Booster's first starring role or his first feature script, as his command of both roles is clear from the very beginning, but it's clear that he will be one to watch after this film.
Booster’s script is a wonderful mix of everything needed to make a good queer film, highlighting the little joys that queer people find, like counting down the sunset in ridiculous fashion, yet showing the harsh realities of it, like the heartbreak of Yang’s Howie, who feels lesser because he hasn’t had a boyfriend at 30 and doesn't fit the stereotypical mold he thinks he needs for true love.
Booster's role as our protagonist is great as well, mostly because he earns our praise, with his role not really taking flight until the sparks start to fly with Will, played by Conrad Ricamora, Charlie's uptight friend who spends a lot of energy making things hard for Noah's matchmaking dreams.
While it's clear the two will end up together, their story through the film goes from forced to genuine, with their queerness informing the hesitation amidst every character in this film. As Will, Ricamora gets the chance to trick the viewers into thinking this film will fall to rom-com trope hell, but soon shows that he is just trying to protect his queer family like Noah.
Bowen Yang is a star
Bowen Yang and James Scully as Howie and Charlie, respectively, are utter perfection every moment they are on screen. Yang’s Howie represents a lot of queer people who feel like they are unwanted in the queer community, displaying a tempered anxiety around the privileges of the life that Charlie lives.
As Howie, Yang creates a character that isn't some watered-down version of a lovelorn sad-sack, but a real representation of a queer man who wants to get his true love like everyone else. He dominates every scene he is in and is without a doubt the highlight of the movie.
Scully as Charlie is instantly like a wholesome little kitten, making it so much easier for you to root for Howie and him to get together. Charlie's unaware authenticity provides a wonderful change of pace as a gay love interest, letting their pure intentions shine through.
The two’s chemistry helps carry the entire movie along, keeping you guessing about their future and becoming one of the primary driving forces behind this movie's greatness.
A great cast help propel rom-com greatness
Unapologetically over-the-top characters in comedies can be dangerous. However, Tomás Matos and Matt Rogers as Keegan and Luke are two superstars every single moment they are on screen.
While the central plot keeps them to the sidelines, they eat up every moment of screen time they get and help you fall instantly in love with them and the rest of the cast. From Matos’ Keegan telling the sun “I’ll see you tomorrow, girl,” to Rogers’ throwing up in an awful man's vase, these two standouts will be ones to watch.
They, along with the rest of the cast, give it their all from start to finish, which helps the romance plot that easily could become a cheap throwaway Hallmark movie, become a truly gripping love story.
Despite being based on a romance classic, the twists and turns of the story do not feel contrived, with the love feeling fresh and hopeful, something the gays do not get a lot of.
A new queer classic
Ultimately, the film sets itself apart as a masterpiece, not because it is based on a classic, but because it goes beyond that to create an entirely new classic for queer people.
At its core, Fire Island is a celebration of queerness that is chosen by love and not blood, and an ode to the world of beauty that LGBTQ+ people can create when given the chance. Effeminate gay men, often ridiculed in film, get a chance to shine in this movie and show the power of embracing your queerness.
I can only hope more film studios will take note and see this movie live on as a lesson that queer works by queer people will always be important.
Looking for more ways to get involved? Check out all of BuzzFeed's posts celebrating Pride 2022.
