Review: Fire Island

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Fire Island (2022) is a modern gay rom-com directed by Andrew Ahn. It came out around the same time as Bros (2022) – the more popular gay rom-com that summer – so it unfortunately fell under the radar even within the gay community.

The story follows Noah (the fit himbo) and his best friend Howie (the virgin waiting for love) going to Fire Island together as friends – the famous gay party vacation island. There Noah meets love interests Dex (shallow hot guy with consent issues) and Will (caring and protective lawyer), and Howie meets Charlie (sweet autistic guy).

Fire Island (2022) is surprisingly fun. It feels lived-in and genuine, like real people in real dating scenarios, but exaggerated by the sole fact that they’re all on Fire Island where the dating game is different. The story is full of charm, friendship and romance. The performances are quite good, and the entire cast has great chemistry with each other. The movie is also hilarious in all the right moments.

Overall, I’d recommend this one to anyone who might like LGBTQ+ romances. I don’t think Fire Island (2022) is as palatable to mainstream audiences as Brokeback Mountain (2005) or Call Me By Your Name (2017), but it’s certainly a good movie. I give it a 9 out of 10.

More info & links:

  • Director: Andrew Ahn
  • Cast: Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang, Margaret Cho
  • Fire Island on IMDB

Alvin Tsang

Film Reviewer

In his youth Alvin loved watching movies and would find himself spending his lunch money and allowance at the box office. He loved the Matrix and the X-Men films, and somewhere along the way, he discovered a love for horror movies — HereditaryMidsommar and Mother! being his favourites. He now holds a professional writing diploma, a couple of journalism degrees, and likes to spend his free time reviewing movies on IMDB and for various magazines. @alvinwct