FIRE ISLAND | AVAILABLE ON HULU JUNE 3
Rising comedy star and screenwriter Joel Kim Booster (The Other Two, Big Mouth) and Emmy® Award-nominated SNL favorite Bowen Yang partner for a wildly original romantic comedy—FIRE ISLAND. Set in the iconic Pines, the film is an unapologetic, modern day romantic comedy 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.
Searchlight Pictures presents a Hulu Original FIRE ISLAND, directed by Andrew Ahn, written by Joel Kim Booster. The film stars Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora, James Scully, Matt Rogers, Tomás Matos, Torian Miller, Nick Adams, Zane Phillips, Michael Graceffa, Aidan Wharton, Peter Smith, Bradley Gibson and Margaret Cho. The creative team includes producers John Hodges, Tony Hernandez, Brooke Posch, director of photography Felipe Vara de Rey, production designer Katie Hickman, costume designer David Tabbert, and film editor Brian A. Kates.
Noah (Booster) is happily, defiantly single. Cash might be hard to come by, and sure, his New York apartment might be cramped and disorganized, but Noah delights in his freewheeling independent lifestyle. Every summer, he and his boys, including BFF Howie (Yang), and their friends Luke (Matt Rogers), Keegan (Tomás Matos) and Max (Torian Miller), head to FIRE ISLAND for a week of non-stop partying and hooking up with hot guys. After arriving at the house on Tuna Walk owned by their friend Erin (Margaret Cho) where the group has always stayed, they’re greeted with unsettling news: Erin has run into financial trouble and will soon be forced to sell the vacation house they considered a second home.
“Fire Island is such a specific place,” says director by Andrew Ahn. “When I got there for the first time, I just was like a sponge trying to soak it all in and I was struck by how much of a queer enclave it is.”
Determined to make what might be their last summer together in Fire Island especially memorable, Noah resolves to help lovelorn Howie find the man, or men, of his dreams. To prove just how serious he takes his mission, Noah promises Howie that he will remain abstinent until he succeeds (yeah, right). The week gets off to a promising start after Howie meets charming doctor Charlie (James Scully), and the two quickly hit it off. But the members of Charlie’s wealthy, accomplished social circle vacationing at their house on Ocean Walk seem to look down on Noah, Howie and their crew. The devastatingly handsome Will (Conrad Ricamora) seems especially disapproving and condescending; yet for some infuriating reason, Noah can’t seem to stop thinking about him.
Amid a classic Fire Island week fueled by underwear parties, dance challenges, karaoke performances, and general debauchery, the gang bickers and banters over potential romantic entanglements. Howie longs for a monogamous partnership like something out of a fairy tale, or at least a 1980s John Cusack movie and Noah can’t imagine ever devoting his life to only one person. As the days roll by, they both find themselves in surprising circumstances and unexpected emotions that just might shape the course of the rest of their lives. Adds producer Brooke Posch, “It’s about identity and being comfortable in your skin. I think the family part is definitely just having people around you who support who you truly are. Good and bad.”
Comments producer John Hodges, “The structure of the story and the narrative that Joel created is very finite. There is just such beautiful arcs between everything, including the exploration of family, and chosen family.”
Directed by Andrew Ahn (Spa Night, Driveways) from a script by Joel Kim Booster (Sunnyside), Searchlight Pictures presents FIRE ISLAND, premiering on Hulu June 3, 2022.