Fire Island

Fire Island is a 2022 American romantic comedy film directed by Andrew Ahn which was released by Searchlight Pictures on Hulu on June 3, 2022. Inspired by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, the story follows a group of gay friends who go on vacation to Fire Island, only for things to become complicated by classism and romance. 
==Plot==
Every year, Noah and his close friends Howie, Luke, Keegan, and Max embark on a weeklong vacation to Fire Island, noted for its gay villages. The group takes the ferry from Sayville, New York on Long Island's South Shore to Fire Island Pines and are reunited with their "house mother" Erin. Erin reveals that she has to sell her house, making this the last week they will spend together. The group meets Charlie, a doctor, and his wealthy friends, including Will, a lawyer, and Cooper. Howie and Charlie take interest in each other. Noah decides that his mission for the trip is for Howie to get laid. Charlie invites the group to his house, where the group gets drunk and causes a scene while Charlie and Howie get closer. Noah overhears Will criticizing the group's behavior.
The next day, Noah invites Charlie and his friends to dinner at Erin's. At the grocery store, Noah meets Dex and they flirt. After seeing that Will dislikes Dex, Noah invites Dex to dinner as well. Charlie, Cooper, and Will arrive for dinner, and Noah and Will discuss books, surprising Noah. Dex arrives, making Will uncomfortable. Dex claims that Will judges him for making content on OnlyFans.
Howie tells the group that he and Charlie kissed, making Noah more intent on making the two a match. The group attends the weekly underwear party in Cherry Grove and do an assortment of illicit drugs. Cooper implies to Noah that he wants Will for himself and accuses Noah's growing attraction to Will of being based on money.
Noah meets up with Dex again. They head to the dark room to have sex, but Noah is distracted by Will and accidentally hits Dex in the nose. This causes a public confrontation between Cooper, Will, Dex, and Noah, during which Noah sees Charlie making out with someone that is not Howie. Noah gathers his intoxicated friends and Howie, who is distraught about Charlie. Noah walks back to the Pines with Will and they fight. Noah accuses Will of being uptight and judgmental, and Will tells Noah that Noah is pretentious even if he pretends not to be. At an afterparty in the Pines, Howie and Noah fight. Howie wants to give up on searching for romance and tells Noah that their experiences are not the same just because they are both gay and Asian, citing issues of body dysmorphia.
Noah is woken up the next day by his friends delivering a letter from Will. Will apologizes for the impression he gave and explains that Dex hurt someone close to Will in the past. Charlie arrives to tell Howie that he has gotten back together with his ex-boyfriend, who has lyme disease, and will be leaving the island sooner than expected.
Noah runs into Will at a drag bar. He shows Noah Dex’s Instagram profile, on which he posts thirst traps with activism tags (“Black Lives Matter” and “Stop Asian Hate”) to get attention. Noah and Will grow closer. Later, the group learn that Dex has posted a video of him and Luke having sex online without Luke's consent. Will helps Noah confront Dex by threatening legal action. Dex agrees to take down the video.
The next day, Howie tells Noah he is leaving because he cannot get over Charlie's rejection. Noah confronts Charlie, who acknowledges that he has feelings for Howie. Noah and his friends hijack a water taxi to catch up to Howie's. Charlie express his feelings to Howie, and they kiss. The group goes to watch the sunset. Noah and Will dance together and finally kiss, agreeing to give their relationship a try.
==Cast==
*Joel Kim Booster as Noah, based on Elizabeth Bennet
*Bowen Yang as Howie, based on Jane Bennet and Charlotte Lucas
*Conrad Ricamora as Will, based on Fitzwilliam Darcy
*James Scully as Charlie, based on Charles Bingley
*Margaret Cho as Erin, based on Mr. Bennet
*Matt Rogers as Luke, based on Lydia Bennet
*Tomás Matos as Keegan, based on Kitty Bennet
*Torian Miller as Max, based on Mary Bennet
*Nick Adams as Cooper, based on both Caroline Bingley and Lady Catherine
*Zane Phillips as Dex, based on George Wickham
*Michael Graceffa as Rhys
*Aidan Wharton as Braden
*Peter Smith as Moses, based on Mr. Collins
*Bradley Gibson as Johnny
==Production==
Streaming television network Quibi announced development of a comedy series titled Trip in September 2019, starring, created, and written by Joel Kim Booster. The project was given a series order on March 11, 2020, with Jax Media set to produce. Booster and Yang, who are both out gay Asian comedians and "life-changing" friends, were set to play fictionalized versions of themselves. Closet Monster filmmaker Stephen Dunn was attached to direct the series. 
Upon the shutdown of Quibi on December 1, 2020, the entire project was jeopardized. Searchlight Pictures announced that they had purchased Booster's script on June 30, 2021 to produce as a feature film re-titled Fire Island with Spa Night director Andrew Ahn replacing Dunn as director. Principal photography began on August 12, 2021, and lasted through September 2021, with filming taking place in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Fire Island, the namesake of the film. The final script incorporated humorous topics the filmmakers had long shared as friends.
==Release==
The film was released June 3, 2022, on Hulu in the United States, Star+ in Latin America, and later released on June 17 Disney+ via Star in other international territories.
==Reception==
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 112 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's consensus reads, "Brought to life by a tremendously talented cast, the breezily entertaining Fire Island proves there are still fresh ways to update Austen." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100 based on reviews from 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."
==References==
Category:2022 films
Category:Live-action films
Category:Films
Category:Hulu original films
Category:R-rated films
Category:Searchlight Pictures films
Category:LGBTQ+ representation