Fire Island is the Perfect Pride Film for the Summer

If the colorful and stunning thumbnail for Fire Island has caught your eye, you’re not the only one. This queer tale of best friends gathering for their annual week of fun and love has been garnering rave reviews and it’s not hard to see why. With his friends Howie (Bowen Yang), Luke (Matt Rogers), Keegan (Tomas Matos), and Max (Torian Miller), Noah (Joel Kim Booster) ventures to the titular queer mecca Fire Island, off the coast of Long Island, New York for a bit of summer fun. After arriving at the house of their lesbian den mother Erin (Margaret Cho), they find out some heartbreaking news which solidifies their resolve to make this week one to remember. Noah also takes it upon himself to make sure hopeless romantic Howie gets himself laid, at the cost of his own sexual experiences for the week. That is when he meets Will (Conrad Ricamora) who both frustrates and intrigues him. Does this plotline sound a little familiar?

Fire Island is a wonderful, modern take on Pride and Prejudice with an extremely diverse cast and main characters that are both queer and Asian. Devoid of hurtful stereotypes and with love interests that are Asian, Fire Island is a wonderful film that showcases how amazing it is when diversity is embraced instead of avoided.

The well-written script was penned by Booster himself. The film is smart, witty, and filled with emotion and laughs. Both Booster and Director Andrew Ahn do a great job balancing character plotlines, serious and comedic timing, and the callbacks were *chef’s kiss*.

Booster has swapped out cotillions for underwear parties and puffy sleeves for perfectly-maintained abs. Like Jane Austen’s classic piece of literature, Fire Island also covers the topic of class division, with Noah butting heads with the Mr. Darcy of the movie, Will.

There are plenty of romantic tropes for rom-com afficionados to bask in: rain-soaked love confessions, grand gestures, changes of heart, and (of course) frustrating scenes where viewers want to scream at the screen: Just kiss already! This is balanced with clever characters, quippy one-liners, intellectual banter, beautiful scenery, and a script that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s also an interesting peek into the LGBTQ community, told by a minority within the group. Booster shares the toxicity that sometimes rears its ugly head but also talks about what makes the queer community amazing.

Hulu has quietly been creating a heartfelt catalogue of genuine and well-written queer rom-coms. From Happiest Season (a holiday lesbian movie starring Kristen Stewart) and now the fun, summer hit, Fire Island. Fire Island is a wonderful film about love, friendships, and a moral that lies somewhere between “Love thyself” and “Sometimes you just need to get over yourself.”