Hulu's brand new film, Fire Island, is a powerful and hilarious celebration of the joy associated with queer love. With its radiant cast, its clever take on the narrative of Pride and Prejudice, and its embrace of LGBTQ+ representation, it is likely to become a classic. Obviously, a major part of the movie’s appeal stems from its characters.
As with any good comedy movie, there are villains and there are heroes, but they all show a surprising level of complexity. Just as importantly, they also display differing levels of likability as they come together for a week on Fire Island.
Dex
At first, Dex seems like a very likable character. He has a great deal of chemistry with the main character Noah, and it seems like they are going to make a good couple. However, it quickly becomes clear that there is more to him than meets the eye, and not all of it is very flattering.
In fact, he records himself having sex with Luke, without his consent which is an awful thing to do. It thus becomes clear that he is far more invested in his own ego and vanity than he is in making a meaningful connection.
Cooper
One of the things that makes Fire Island such a great romantic comedy is its ability to create villainous secondary characters. Foremost of these is Cooper, Charlie’s good friend and a bitingly sarcastic–but superficially nice–person who makes it his mission to be cruel to Noah and Howie.
He is the type of person who clearly takes a very cynical and jaded view of the world and, because he’s attractive, he thinks this gives him the right to make other people miserable.
Charlie
James Scully (famously for appearing in You, one of the best Netflix series) plays Charlie, the love interest of Howie. Though he is a nice person, Charlie is far willing to listen to the influence of his more toxic friends. It’s precisely his inability to stand up for what he truly believes–let alone for Howie–that nearly leads to their separation.
Fortunately, he is saved from becoming a totally unlikable character by coming to his senses before it’s too late, and he ultimately makes a grand romantic gesture for Howie.
Will
Given that this is How to Get Away with Murder).
Though, like Mr. Darcy, he comes across as being very uptight and even cruel, the truth is that he has a softer side. He genuinely comes to care about Noah and, just as importantly, he is also looking out for Charlie. He is, when all is said and done, a good friend.
Luke
Luke is another of the secondary characters but, like the rest of them, he manages to be quite compelling. He can have a bit of a sharp tongue, particularly when it comes to his relationship with Noah, but he nevertheless is, deep down, a kind person.
When it comes right down to it, it’s clear that he sees Noah and the rest of them as his own sort of family. What’s more, the fact that he is taken advantage of by the villainous Dex renders him into a likable character.
Max
Though he is only one of the secondary characters in Fire Island, it’s still very clear that Max is one of the movie’s most likable characters. Fussy as he is–and he is definitely the most uptight of the group of friends that go to Fire Island–he still clearly cares about his friends and is willing to stand by them, even when he thinks that their behavior is less than sensible.
What’s more, when the chips are down, they know that they can always rely on him to be on their side.
Keegan
Like all movies with strong LGTBQ+ representation, Fire Island is very expansive in of the many different types of gay men that it depicts. Though he is one of the movie’s secondary characters, it is still clear that Keegan is very likable.
He seems to take joy in just being in the presence of the people that he loves the most, and he approaches the week on Fire Island with an unmistakable and exuberant joyful glee. He doesn’t let anything get in the way of his enjoyment of his time there.
Erin
Margaret Cho brings her inimitable charm to the character of Erin, the lesbian who owns the house on Fire Island that the friends go to for the week. From the beginning, it‘s clear that she is someone who is incredibly likable.
She takes the group of friends under her wing, and she loves them in a way that many of their own families do not. Throughout all of the romantic travails that they endure, they know that they can count on her to have their backs.
Noah
As the movie’s Elizabeth Bennet figure, Noah can at times be a bit harsh, particularly when he thinks that he is doing what is right for Howie and for his other friends. However, it’s also true that everything he does comes from a place of love.
Given that his own family has clearly distanced themselves from him, Howie and the others are the only true family that he has. In the end, he comes to realize that he has to let Howie live his own life on his own , and he also realizes that there might be space in his own life for love.
Howie
Throughout his time on Saturday Night Live, Bowen Yang has shown that he is one of the show’s most talented , and he brings his considerable charm and charisma to the character of Howie. Like Noah, he clearly has some trauma in his background, but that doesn’t keep him from being a very effervescent personality.
Indeed, it is precisely his willingness to be vulnerable and to tell others how he feels, that makes him both very likable and very complex. He’s one of the major reasons Fire Island will come to be seen as one of the best LGBTQ+ movies of the 21st century.
