The movie is still plenty funny, but it is not funny on the outsized scale of most Hollywood comedies. While this gives the film the laidback atmosphere of a nice beach getaway, it also flattens much of the comedy, rendering many guffaw-worthy lines merely chuckle-worthy. While it has many of the same beats as friend-group-trip-oriented comedies like ' Girls Trip' or 'The Hangover,' 'Fire Island' has more in common stylistically and tonally with Ahn's previous features ' Driveways' and 'Spa Night.' Emphasizing the more contemplative aspects of Joel Kim Booster's screenplay, Ahn keeps everything moving forward on an even keel, never letting anything get too over the top. This is not quite the raunchy gay rom-com that the title, plot, and trailer would lead you to believe it is. Similarly, anyone watching Andrew Ahn's 'Fire Island' might want to adjust their own expectations. So Noah has to adjust his expectations a bit, deciding to be hopeless romantic Howie's wingman and putting his own sexual exploits on the back burner. And then his non-waterproof phone ends up in the pool. But when they arrive, they learn that Erin (Margaret Cho) has to sell the house that has made this getaway possible, meaning that this will be their last trip. He had certain expectations for his annual week on Fire Island with his chosen family: Howie (Bowen Yang), Luke (Matt Rogers), Keegan (Tomas Matos), and Max (Torian Miller).
