Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. That is what often leads to bad comedies they reach for the joke rather than have it come organically from the story or the characters. That's a how a laugh works - it's a surprise. With a comedy, you have to surprise audiences constantly. A big part of it is performance, another part is tone, and that's where there are the micro-level differences between a drama and a comedy. There are many different elements that are involved in finding that emotional truth. Audiences have to believe the moment unfolding in front of them. I think on a macro level, my goal is the same as a director whether I am directing a drama or a comedy. They were so good at being funny and improvising with each other, I wanted to let them find the tone themselves." Can you talk about how you approached the material? This film is a comedy, which is certainly a change of pace from your previous features which were more serious in tone. RELATED: The best new movies to watch from home, from "Everything Everywhere All at Once" to "Fire Island"Īhn chatted with Salon about "Fire Island." But "Fire Island" also addresses themes of race and class in addition to sexuality. Ahn allows the large ensemble of out gay actors (which includes Matt Rogers, Tomás Natis, Torian Miller, and Zane Phillips) to lean into the material with wit that is both droll and campy. The plot is an excuse for all the characters to attend parties, drink and do drugs, have sex (or not), and consider the meaning of love and friendship. What is more, Noah is both attracted to and repelled by Charlie's friend, Will (Conrad Ricamora, exceptional in the Darcy role). However, as Noah meddles in Howie's affairs, obstacles arise for the potential couple. In the film, Noah (Booster) helps his best friend Howie ( Bowen Yang) connect romantically with Charlie (James Scully), a hot doctor who seems attracted to him. ( Margaret Cho, playing a lesbian den mother, is the sole woman). moving dramas "Spa Night" and "Driveways," shows his talent for comedy with Hulu's " Fire Island." The film, written by and starring Joel Kim Booster, is a contemporary take on Jane Austen's " Pride and Prejudice," with an almost-all gay male cast.