Hulu's new movie 'Fire Island' takes multi-cultural look at queerness, romance in modern world
The classic Jane Austen book, "Pride and Prejudice," is the inspiration behind the new gay-themed romantic comedy, "Fire Island." It's about some friends who gather for their yearly summer vacation. It takes viewers on an adventure billed as "unapologetic," offering a multi-cultural look at queerness and romance in our modern world.
"It is a story that you haven't seen before," said actor Conrad Ricamora. "It feels fresh because it's a story that never gets old. And I think that's why it's going to be appealing."
Joel Kim Booster is not only one of the stars of "Fire Island," he's also the writer and the executive producer.
"For as long as I, you know, have wanted to work in this industry, I've wanted to be a multi-hyphenate. I've wanted to be, you know, Issa Rae, Michaela Coel, Phoebe Waller Bridge, Lena Dunham, like, the whole nine. I wanted to do all the things. And this experience was extremely gratifying because I was really good at it," he said, adding in a quick giggle.
Joel enlisted his best friend, Bowen Yang, to play his best friend in the movie. With "Fire Island" hitting Hulu during Pride Month, Bowen thinks it's a good time to keep opening minds and keep conversations going.
"I feel like there's this wave of regressive legislation that's being passed to target a lot of queer youth," Yang said. "And i feel like it's just as vital and urgent as ever to just make sure that we kind of show our humanity to people and show that we can live without shame, that we can, you know, beyond acceptance, actually feel proud of who we are."
His fellow co-star, Matt Rogers, added, "So it is very important visibility and, and declaring, you know, I'm here, I'm proud and I'm okay."
The guys were all more than okay to have Margaret Cho play their motherly figure in the film.
"I've lived with Margaret Cho's voice in my head for so long that, like, when it finally came time to write for Margaret Cho, it was just, it was like flipping on a switch!" Booster said.
"Fire Island" is rated R. It's now streaming on Hulu.
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