Skip to main content

Fire Island offers an LGBT take on a Jane Austen classic

Three years ago, the film now known as Fire Island was originally going to be a series on Quibi. Fortunately, it dodged that bullet and it will now be a feature-length film produced by Searchlight as a Hulu original. Saturday Night Live cast members Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang are co-headlining the movie as Noah and Howie, a pair of friends who are looking for love, romance, and excitement at a famous vacation destination for gay men.

The first trailer for the movie briefly follows Noah and Howie in their regular lives before they take off on their trip together. If the plot glimpsed in the trailer seems familiar to you, it’s not a coincidence. This is a modern and a LGBT adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. And if Noah and Howie want to find a lasting connection, they will need to sort out their own issues.

FIRE ISLAND | Official Trailer | Searchlight Pictures

Hulu also released a synopsis for the film.

“Set in the iconic Pines, Andrew Ahn’s Fire Island is an unapologetic, modern-day rom-com showcasing a diverse, multicultural examination of queerness and romance. Inspired by the timeless pursuits from Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice, the story centers around two best friends (Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang) who set out to have a legendary summer adventure with the help of cheap rosé and their cadre of eclectic friends.”

The cast of Fire Island.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Margaret Cho also stars in the film as Erin, with Conrad Ricamora as Will, James Scully as Charlie, Matt Rogers as Luke, Tomás Matos as Keegan, Torian Miller as Max, Nick Adams as Cooper, Zane Phillips as Dex, Michael Graceffa as Rhys, Aidan Wharton as Braden, and Peter Smith as Moses.

Fire Island was directed by Ahn from a script by Booster. It will premiere on Hulu on June 3.

Editors' Recommendations

Blair Marnell
Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek…
25 years ago, The Matrix led a mini movement of sci-fi simulation thrillers
A man walks into a simulation in The Thirteenth Floor.

One way to grasp how fully our relationship to computers changed over the 1990s is to look at the cyberthrillers Hollywood made during that time. Mass surveillance, identity theft, the hacking of the soul — all the nascent technological anxieties of this new era were uploaded to movie screens like a virus. But there was no stopping what was coming, and over just 10 years, a world merely flirting with mass connectivity went irreversibly online. By the end of the decade (and, by extension, the century and millennium), the internet had become a major part of everyday life for many people. In turn, the word of warning evolved at the movies. Suddenly, computers weren’t just threatening your safety, your privacy, and your humanity. They were replacing life itself.

In the spring of 1999, the American multiplex was inundated with variations on that scary conclusion. First came The Matrix, a savvy sleeper blockbuster that used irresistible pop philosophy as the Krazy Glue of its spirited genre pastiche. Mere weeks later, eXistenZ, a weird Canadian thriller, dabbled in similar ideas, while bending them into the less mainstream shape of a drolly deranged espionage movie. And a few weeks later still, on Memorial Day weekend, we got The Thirteenth Floor, a twisty neo-noir about realities within realities that had the misfortune of opening in the wake of not just Matrix mania, but also the box-office event that was Star Wars: Episode 1—The Phantom Menace.

Read more
7 best 2010s fantasy movies, ranked
Neville, Hermione, Ron, and Harry inside a dark tunnel in HP and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

For the fantasy genre, the 2010s were a time of both bittersweet endings and exciting beginnings. Dominated by epic franchises that would captivate fans across the globe, there were significant contributions to the genre and cinema as a whole from that era. Of course, there were also acclaimed standalone fantasy movies from talented directors who would use the best aspects of the genre while pushing its boundaries.

From the magical clash within Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to the captivating story of The Shape of Water, the best fantasy movies of the 2010s offer spectacular and otherworldly viewing experiences for audiences of all ages. Full of rich fantastical realms, well-written heroes and foes, and spell-binding stories, these films have cemented their place in cinematic history as must-see significant entries in the fantasy genre.
7. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Read more
What’s new on Amazon Prime Video in May 2024
Nicholas Galitzine and Anne Hathaway in The Idea of You.

Unlike some other streaming services in May, Amazon Prime Video is giving subscribers all of the movies that they can handle. Everything from classic Westerns like 3:10 To Yuma and comedies like Airplane! to dramas like Cold Mountain and more are arriving on May 1. Even the German thriller Run Lola Run is back on Prime Video. And if you haven't seen it yet, you should -- it's terrific.

Prime Video is also premiering new originals in May, including Anne Hathaway's new romantic drama The Idea of You, as well as Outer Range season 2, The GOAT, and Clarkson's Farm. George Clooney's period drama The Boys in The Boat is also arriving on Prime Video this month, but not until May 28.

Read more