This article discusses the ending of the Hulu film Fire Island which will contain spoilers.
Ready Steady Cut film critic, M.N. Miller, calls Fire Island a “funny and enjoyable rom-com.”
Fire Island is a new film streaming on Hulu, an unapologetic rom-com with a sense of community. In the movie, a group, led by best friends Noah (The Other Two’s Joel Kim Booster) and Howie (Saturday Night Live’s Bowen Yang), head to a narrow strip of beach in the outer barrier islands. That place is Fire Island. The location and annual trip the group takes, historically, the area is a paradise for the LGBTQ+ community. This includes hookups, partying, and drinking, which celebrates the freedom to express their sexual orientation.
The guys take an annual trip and stay at Erin’s (Margaret Cho) house. She is the group’s big sister. There is a sense that things are going to end, or at least change. Erin has to sell her house because she is awful with money. There, Noah encourages Howie to hook up with a man named Charlie, who is part of a group that Noah usually cannot stand. A wealthy group that ignores anyone who may not be an Instagram model. He meets one of them, Will (The Resident’s Conrad Ricamora), who he discovers he has more in common with than he realizes on the surface. Will, a wealthy lawyer (which Noah assumes), is grounded. He also has a sense of empathy that is different from his group of friends.
Hulu film Fire Island ending explained
Fire Island is predictable in its romantic comedy tropes. Two relationships end up the way we knew they would. Howie decides to leave the island earlier than expected when Charlie hooks back up with his ex-boyfriend. When Noah tells Charlie he is going the film treats the viewer to a classic rom-com cliché. Both groups get together, grab a boat, and chase Howie down so Charlie can tell drop his guard and tell him how he feels.
When it comes to Noah and Will, this storyline is deeper. Where Howie and Charlie are letting down their expectations on what type of man they want, these two are searching for something less shallow. Will is not the vain a*****e Noah expects. He has an empathy that Noah appreciates. Will sees his intelligence and that he is not the typical party guy you find at Fire Island. Will asks Noah for a dance on the dock by the end of the film. Initially, Noah is worried about what this all means — he is scared of taking a step into a stable, mature relationship. Will assures Noah it is just a dance, and they should take it slow.
This allows Noah to let his guard down and take a step in a positive direction in his life. A path he has thrived in the past few years. Now, he allows himself to be cared about differently from outside the familial bubble.
