Since Howie moved from New York to San Francisco, however, their lives have diverged somewhat: while he’s remained a shy wallflower, Noah has evolved into a gym-built stud, cycling through one-night stands with casual ease. Years before, Asian Americans Noah and Howie bonded over their mutual status as outcasts on a scene where “no fats, no fems, no Asians” is all too common a line on Grindr profiles. The result, like those films, is more aspirational than it is convincing. Mapping conventionally cheesy romantic comedy beats on to less Hollywood-dictated homosexual terrain, it also aims to deliver some tough truths about the modern gay dating scene between the sweetened sunset smooches and all’s-well-that-ends-well optimism of sundry past vehicles for Sandra Bullock or Meg Ryan.
Andrew Ahn’s sunny gay buddy movie Fire Island negotiates that fundamental conflict in its characters while also falling prey to it as a film.
