Often they’re framed around violence and sadness, and “Fire Island” is defiant against that trope. True, queer stories are yet deserving of levity. “I love rom-coms, and there’s something about them that allows us to process the difficult emotions around being desired that, without a sense of humor, would be crushing.”
“The film doesn’t sugarcoat the Fire Island experience, and Joel has talked about how many moments of the film are lifted from his own experiences,” Ahn continued. There, the plot points of a classic romantic comedy - as well as “Pride & Prejudice,” which Booster adapts to model the Pine’s sexual caste system - is born out, as well as the issues of racism, classism and sexual assault which continue to plague Fire Island’s sequestered beach destination.
The film features a group of gay Asian men, led by Booster and Yang, who head to the Pines for a final summer weekend before their host (played by Margaret Cho) sells her beach house.
