Among the more interesting of Hulu's recent arrivals, Fire Island is a LGBT-themed romantic comedy that's earned rave reviews for its great cast and funny, sweet look at gay relationships. It's also the latest in a long line of modernized Jane Austen adaptations, being heavily inspired by Pride and Prejudice.
Modern updates on classic literature are nothing new, having been a popular way to bring an adaptation to the screen from the earliest days of cinema. These films draw from a wide variety of sources, often centuries old, and found a way to make them work as stories of the present.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Proving that teen romance can appeal to viewers not in the target demographic, 10 Things I Hate About You scored positive reviews and served as the breakout film for Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger. To make things better, it has Shakespearean pedigree, being a high school take on The Taming of the Shrew.
While the bard's plays might seem an odd fit for a late '90s teen flick, high schools actually make perfect sense as a setting for modernized Shakespeare adaptations, with their rigid cliques and dating conventions being a good analogue for 16th/17th century social class relations and the nobility's courtship traditions.
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Although Apocalypse Now is one of the quintessential Vietnam War films, its roots actually go back to 1899, when Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness was published. Screenwriter John Milius had been interested in adapting the book for some time and combined with Francis Ford Coppola's excellent direction, his script gave birth to a tense, disturbing descent into madness.
Literature buffs probably would've seen lots of parallels between Hearts of Darkness and Apocalypse Now even if the movie hadn't taken direct inspiration from it. The former focuses on how the Congo Free State abused and exploited the local Africans, while the latter is set during a war in which America fought a postcolonial nation, with often disastrous results.
Cast Away (2000)
Widely considered one of the best films about solitude, Cast Away is an engrossing tale of survival that features one of Tom Hanks' best performances, as well as showcasing a subtler, more character-driven side of Robert Zemeckis' repertoire. While officially an original screenplay, the film also bears more than a passing resemblance to Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe.
Both the movie and book follow the sole survivor of a disaster that leaves them marooned on a remote island, struggling for years to make a living with a companion that he can only tenuously communicate with. In fact, Cast Away is so beloved, and straight adaptations of Robinson Crusoe are so rare, that it might as well be the definitive adaptation.
Clueless (1995)
Like William Shakespeare's plays, Jane Austen's books are surprisingly ripe material for teen films, and Clueless is just as good an adaptation of Emma as any of the official ones. The story of matchmaking high school student Cher Horowitz struck a chord with '90s kids, with the film acquiring a cult following far outshining its initial box office performance.
While the cast of Clueless, including Alicia Silverstone, Brittany Murphy, and Paul Rudd, deserve a lot of credit in making it so popular, what makes it truly iconic is the dialogue. The script is filled with slang and turns of phrase that feel both ridiculous and authentic, giving the movie a charming time capsule status that few of its era can truly match.
Coriolanus (2011)
As popular as they are, modern Shakespeare adaptations are hard to make work, with social mores changing so vastly in the hundreds of years since his lifetime that they can come off as bizarre. Fortunately, Ralph Fiennes' Coriolanus, based on one of Shakespeare's more obscure plays, brings the source material into modern times to great effect.
The story of a brilliant but arrogant general's fall from grace, the film moves the action from ancient Rome to a Balkans-esque setting, making the themes of the brutality of war hit home for today's audiences. Fiennes also gives a great performance as the title character, with his fate being utterly tragic even as the film never downplays his detestable qualities.
Fire Island (2022)
Hulu has released some great original movies over the past few years, and judging by its high critic scores, Fire Island might be their hottest ticket of the summer. Taking the plot of Pride and Prejudice and setting in the popular gay resort near Long Island, the movie proves that, despite the huge amount of Jane Austen adaptations, they can always be done with a fresh perspective.
What truly makes the movie stand out amongst the rom-com crowd is its great cast, especially writer-star Joel Kim Booster as Lizzie Bennett's equivalent, Noah. A rising star in the stand-up world, Booster's performance helps keep the movie grounded even when the humor gets raunchy.
Phantom Of The Paradise (1974)
While The Phantom of the Opera may be a beloved musical with legions of fans, it's not the first musical adaptation of the book, and Brian de Palma's Phantom of the Paradise takes the story into full-on rock opera territory. The movie was a box office failure back in 1974, but quickly became a huge cult hit, making it almost feel like a preview of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Not only is the film a unique riff on Gaston Leroux's Phantom, but it also takes inspiration from other classics like Faust and The Picture of Dorian Gray, especially when it comes to protagonist Winslow Leach's deal with the devil, in the form of shady music producer Swan. By cribbing from so many influences, and combining so many genres, Phantom of the Paradise stands out as one of the more unique '70s musicals.
Roxanne (1987)
Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac may have recently gotten a critically acclaimed adaptation starring Peter Dinklage, but this Steve Martin comedy makes for a great companion piece. Set in small town 1980s America rather than 17th century France, Roxanne is a heartwarming tale of the pursuit of love as well as a hilarious comedy.
Making it all work so well is Martin himself, giving audiences one of his best characters in C.D. Bales, a fire chief who can seemingly do anything except work up the confidence to woo the woman of his dreams. He plays his modern day Cyrano with excellent comedic timing and sensitivity, making him a likable lead who viewers will root for every step of the way.
Scrooged (1988)
A cynical comedy that still has plenty of Christmas cheer, Scrooged proves that retellings of A Christmas Carol can make audiences laugh as well as tug at their heartstrings. While the film received mixed reviews and was only a modest box office hit, its stature has grown over the years, and it now gets lots of holiday airplay.
One of the most interesting things about Scrooged is that it proves just how timeless Dickens' story is, with Frank Cross being the pitch-perfect Scrooge equivalent for the '80s, a decade marked by a renewed focus on the dangers of corporate greed. Bill Murray's performance also gives an early look into his acting range, with Cross being both hilarious and believably sinister before his redemption.
War Of The Worlds (2005)
H.G. Wells's science fiction classic has been adapted to suit the needs of new eras so many times that it's surprising when a new version is actually set in the original's Victorian age. It's easy to see why, since fear of the unknown, terrestrial or otherwise, is a potent theme that transcends time and space.
Spielberg's take on War of the Worlds isn't often talked about today, but it has admirers who consider it a forgotten gem of 2000s blockbuster filmmaking. While the set-pieces are impressive, the movie works best at its most intimate, with its thriller elements effectively illustrating how paranoia would overtake so many in the event of an alien invasion.