‘Fire Island’ is red-hot Emmys contender

Jacob Sarkisian
·3 min read
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“Fire Island” is about to, uh, catch fire at this year’s Emmys. The telefilm, which aired on Hulu last June, is certain to be nominated for Best TV Movie and could well win that top honor. The flick follows a group of LGBTQIA+ friends who head to Fire Island Pines for their annual trip full of sex, fun, and drugs. But when their usual trip is disrupted, they have to make this final trip their best ever. Joel Kim Booster does double duty as both writer and star of this  heartfelt film, which he loosely based on “Pride & Prejudice.” Andrew Ahn directs while Margaret Cho, Matt Rogers, Conrad Ricamora, and “Saturday Night Live” star Bowen Yang all costar.

Booster play Noah, who is out just for fun and frolic until he makes a promise to best friend Howie (Yang) that he won’t have sex again until Howie breaks his dry spell. Noah tries his hardest to get Howie to engage in casual encounters. However, Howie falls for Charlie (James Scully), who is the friend of Will (Ricamora). Will and Noah strike up a frosty relationship as they each try to protect their respective friend but eventually, they fall for one another, too.

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The film was warmly received by critics, with Siddhant Adlakha of IGN writing: “Indie director Andrew Ahn creates a mainstream queer classic with the romcom Fire Island, his inventive modern adaptation of ‘Pride and Prejudice.’ Following a group of gay friends on a wild vacation, it features some of the funniest and most tension-filled scenes in any movie this year. As complete as any piece of entertainment can be.”

Indie Wire’s Jude Dry observed: “Grounding the lightness and frivolity with real heart, Booster’s laugh-out-loud script and Ahn’s artistic corralling of the energetic ensemble is a match made in heaven — or gay paradise. They say a discerning queer in possession of a few good judys must be in want of a good movie, and ‘Fire Island’ delivers.”

And David Fear of Rolling Stone called the movie a love letter to the LGBTQIA+ community, noting: “This romantic comedy has its share of those archetypes. It also has gay lead characters, gay love interests, gay heroes, gay villains, and gay people of color galore. That doesn’t excuse some of the clunkier, more brochure-friendly scenarios that Fire Island throws at them. But it does give you the warmest gratitude towards the persons who, by bringing everyone to this picture-perfect spot and inviting them to the party in the Pines, had been the means of uniting them.”

That response has lead to the movie placing high on our predicted five nominees for Best TV Movie. It’s currently second with 4/1 odds and is only just behind pack leader “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.” “Fire Island” places ahead “Prey,” “Hocus Pocus 2,” and “Jerry and Marge Go Large,” which rounds out the top five. So, a nomination is almost a dead certain for “Fire Island,” but can it close the gap on “Weird” and go on to win?

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