Fire Island

Putting a vibrant queer spin on Pride and Prejudice, this heartfelt romcom follows a group of gay friends as they spend a week partying at the titular New York resort. Free-spirited Noah (Joel Kim Booster, who wrote the screenplay) has one goal: convince his BFF Howie (Bowen Yang) to cut loose and get laid, by any means necessary. While they navigate the good and the bad of this so-called "gay Disney World", Howie falls hard for a blue-eyed jock (James Scully), and Noah struggles with his feelings for the stoic Will (Conrad Ricamora). With its sharp dialogue, sun-kissed visuals and emphasis on positive representation for gay minorities, Fire Island excels as an authentic-feeling look at LGBTQ+ life. Its party atmosphere is infectious (an a cappella rendition of Britney Spears's Sometimes is a highlight), but it also takes time to shine a light on inter-community prejudice, as the ethnically diverse leads encounter the casual racism of buff white "mean gays". Although the film stops short of doing anything hugely daring, it's a fresh and fun frolic from director Andrew Ahn that benefits from the genuine warmth between real-life friends Booster and Yang.