The fact that Fire Island has earned a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes only a couple of days after its premiere on Hulu is just one of the many reasons to add it to your watchlist. This movie, directed by Andrew Ahn and starring Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora, and Margaret Cho, is making waves, having already earned a spot among the best LGBTQ+ rom-coms in history. Like many other productions throughout cinema history, Fire Island was inspired by Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, but with an interesting twist featuring diverse characters that add some freshness to a movie genre that, unfortunately, doesn’t display as much queer representation as it should.



Fire Island follows Noah (Booster) and Howie (Yang), two friends who, alongside the rest of their crew, embark on a week-long trip to Fire Island, a destination that throughout history became quite popular within the LGBTQ+ community. There, they are met by Erin (Cho), a friend of the group who has a small cabin on the island and fills a motherly role for everyone. Throughout that week-long vacation, this group of friends meets new people and potential love interests, though they must put aside their own preconceptions and pride in order to get along.

Besides having a great plot and characters inspired by Jane Austen’s classic, brilliantly reinvented by the cast, Fire Island features some of the best aspects of its genre and even a soundtrack that combines some of today’s and decades-old hits. The song selection that goes with every major moment seems to be strategically planned in order to enhance each scene, and it deserves a special mention. Therefore, in this article, we will go over the best songs of this movie, ranked.

8 “Pure Imagination” — Kathleen

“Pure Imagination,” sun by Kathleen, is the one that kicks off both this ranking and the movie, as it was the one playing in the background during the scene where this group of friends was traveling to Fire Island on the ferry. It is an excellent choice considering that Noah, Howie, and their buddies were very excited and looking forward to experiencing a week that surpassed their imagination and all their expectations. Simultaneously, Fire Island was a destination that let them both feel wilder and more liberated, and they had already grown fond of it thanks to their many good memories together on the island.

Related: Fire Island Review: Hulu Movie Hilariously Puts the Pride in Pride and Prejudice

7 “Boys (Coldabank Remix)” — Charli XCX

This was the first song played at the Tea Bar, in the party that would kick off their long-awaited vacation. “Boys” recounts in many ways what was happening at that bar, where everyone was getting to know each other and checking out people who might be appealing to them. Some guys even tried to hook their friends up with other men, as was the case with Noah, who was on a personal mission to get Howie to meet someone. This event was partly a distraction for the group of friends, since before going to the Tea Bar, Erin had admitted that she was about to lose her house, something that distressed Howie, Noah, and the rest of the group.

6 “Jade” — Monsune

After an unfortunate first encounter between Will (Ricamora) and Noah’s respective friend groups, Howie went overboard with some substances and ended up having to spend the night in Charlie’s (James Scully) bathroom, with the man watching lovingly over him. Out of gratitude, Noah then decided to invite the entire group over to Erin’s house for dinner. Against the expectations of both groups of friends, the night went very well and everyone enjoyed laughing and sharing funny stories, with Monsune’s song “Jade” playing in the background, even despite some unfortunate comments from certain people in Will and Charlie’s group.

5 “Jason” — Perfume Genius

“Jason,” by Perfume Genius, is a tune that complemented one of the most significant scenes of the movie, and for that reason alone is worthy of a spot in this ranking. From the very beginning of Fire Island, the audience can sense the tension between Noah and Will, who both believed they belonged to different worlds and even had a few arguments. However, after going back and forth several times, they managed to understand one another, and to the beat of “Jason,” they were featured in a sequence spending a romantic day at the beach, putting their prejudices aside and just enjoying each other’s company.

4 “Heart to Break” — Kim Petras

In an effort to impress Noah, Will decided to step out of his comfort zone and take part in a dance contest at the bar. So, he got up on stage, quite shy at first, and while dancing to the rhythm of “Heart to Break, ” Kim Petras’ song, he improvised some old-fashioned dance steps that got progressively better as the song went on and as he got looser and looser. From below the stage, Noah was amusedly watching among the audience, amazed by Will’s big move. This scene also featured Peppermint, one of the most beloved contestants of the reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race, as the host of the dance contest.

Related: LGBTQ+ Cinema: The Importance of Happy Endings

3 “Dreams Tonite” — Alvvays

“Dreams Tonite,” by Alvvays, was the song that followed the establishment of one of the most important couples in the movie: Howie and Charlie. From the beginning of Fire Island, this couple had a much stronger romantic interest than the rest of the relationships that developed on the island. While most people were looking to have fun and enjoy a good time, these two loved to chat together and simply keep each other’s company. However, as in every relationship, this one also had a breakdown, culminating in Howie having his vacation end prematurely and taking a ferry back home. Luckily, after a grand romantic gesture by Charlie, Howie decided to forgive him and resumed his trip, something that was celebrated by the couple and the rest of the characters to the beat of this song on Cherry Groove.

2 “Sometimes” – MUNA & The Cast

“Sometimes,” the original song by Britney Spears, is a fundamental piece of the film, and it is featured in some of the most important moments of the production. The first time it appeared, it was performed to perfection by Howie, Luke (Matt Rogers), and Keegan (Tomás Matos) in a karaoke session, to the applause and cheers of both their friends and the audience. The second time “Sometimes” was featured in a scene was performed by MUNA, and became part of a pivotal moment in Fire Island: the time when Charlie did something crazy and stole a boat alongside Will, Noah and the rest of the group so that they could search for Howie and convince him to go back to the island.

1 “Last Dance” — Donna Summer

This iconic 1978 song is the perfect choice to bring closure to a story as charming as the one depicted in Fire Island. Towards the end of the movie, Noah and Will had a conversation about their intentions and desires for a relationship, and were surprised to discover that what they were looking for in a partner was quite similar. To seal the love that was forged during their week-long vacation on the island, they danced together for the first time to the rhythm of this Donna Summer song and sealed their love with a kiss. Afterwards, both groups of friends, now as one, celebrated and danced to “Last Dance” as the movie credits rolled.