Arriving Friday on Hulu is “Fire Island,” the perfect sexy, smart rom-com to kick off the summer season, and the LGBTQ Pride Month of June. “Fire Island” is a queer rom based on Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” which writer and star Joel Kim Booster adapted to the gay vacation destination located on Fire Island, just off the coast of Long Island, New York. It was a trip with co-star Bowen Yang and a copy of Austen’s novel in tow that inspired Booster to apply Austen’s razor-sharp wit and social observations to the carefree party culture there, and director Andrew Ahn delivers a film that’s fresh, funny and totally romantic.
Booster and Yang play Noah and Howie, best friends who travel to Fire Island annually with their tight-knit group, including Luke (Matt Rogers), Keegan (Tomás Matos), and Max (Torian Miller), who all crash with den mother Erin (Margaret Cho), who soon may be losing their summer pad. Adding stakes to this trip is an encounter with a group of wealthier men on the island, including the charming doctor Charlie (James Scully), for whom Howie falls, and the reticent Will (Conrad Ricamora), with whom Noah banters and tussles. It’s not hard to map the characters and beats of “Pride and Prejudice” directly onto “Fire Island,” which is part of the fun, and just might inspire a rewatch of the classic adaptations. Joe Wright’s 2005 version, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen, is a dreamy and delightful film (available to rent on all platforms), or perhaps the 1995 miniseries starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy is more to your liking (stream it on Hulu or Britbox).
“Fire Island” is also a part of the grand tradition of modern Austen adaptations including Amy Heckerling’s “Clueless” (streaming on HBO Max), which transposes “Emma” to the world of vacuous teens in Beverly Hills of the 1990s. Pair “Clueless” with Autumn de Wilde’s arch take on Austen’s meddling matchmaker comedy, “Emma.” (2020), starring Anya Taylor-Joy in the title role, streaming on Amazon Freevee or available for rent elsewhere.
But more than likely, watching “Fire Island” will make you want to seek out the work of the winning cast, each of whom give star turns in the film, no matter how big or small the role. Booster is pitch-perfect as the prickly Noah, the brainy, discerning Elizabeth Bennet of the crew. His stand-up special “Psychosexual” will premiere on Netflix June 21, so mark your calendars, but until then, catch him voicing Charles Lu on Netflix’s “Big Mouth” or in a few episodes of “Shrill” on Hulu.
Yang’s more than demonstrated his comedic chops as an Emmy-nominated “Saturday Night Live” cast member, but the role of Howie offers him a welcome chance to tap into a more dramatic side. But, be sure to watch his greatest “SNL” hits on YouTube or Hulu, or catch him on “Awkwafina is Nora From Queens” on HBO Max, as Awkwafina’s overachieving cousin, Edmund. Yang also has a brief but memorable role in the year’s other great rom-com, the Sandra Bullock-starring “The Lost City,” now streaming on Paramount+.
Also among the cast of soon-to-be-stars, Matt Rogers plays the jealous, frivolous Luke, a version of younger sister Lydia in “Pride and Prejudice.” He’s currently co-starring as Darcy on Showtime’s QVC-inspired comedy “I Love That For You,” starring and created by “SNL” alum Vanessa Bayer. He also hosted the incredibly entertaining dog-grooming competition show “Haute Dog” on HBO Max, and voiced the character of Twink on the animated Netflix series “Q-Force.”
These are just a few streaming choices to seek out after “Fire Island,” but it’s more than likely you’ll just want to rewatch this fun, funny, and feel-good comedy, which is as refreshing as a spray of salty sea air on a humid summer day.
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