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The Boys in the Band (2020)
(Netflix)
By Lucas Allen
The groundbreaking Tony award-winning play “The Boys in the Band” gets another stellar adaptation after a big screen version directed by William Friedkin was released in 1970. The new Netflix film produced by Ryan Murphy reunites the main players and director Joe Mantello from the 50th anniversary off-Broadway revival from 2018. It’s worth noting the original playwright Mart Crowley who also co-wrote the script passed away last March, and this film was dedicated in his memory.
One night in New York City in 1968, Michael (Jim Parsons) and his faithful roommate Donald (Matt Bomer) are throwing a birthday party for their good friend Harold (Zachary Quinto). They invite other pals to the occasion including commercial artist Larry (Andrew Rannells), his roommate Hank (Tuc Watkins), who just left his wife, snappy decorator Robin (Emory de Jesus) and librarian Bernard (Michael Benjamin Washington). Robin also brings young hustler Cowboy (Charlie Carver) as a gift for Harold. At first, the party started off as normal despite the birthday boy’s tardiness before Michael’s straight friend from college Alan (Brian Hutchinson) suddenly showed up to complicate matters.
But once Harold finally arrives, the party gets more interesting. Michael proposes a party game of his own, which each guest has to call somebody on the phone and proclaim their love for that person. However, this little game has each of the partygoers revealing their pasts in ways that will affect the friendship and loves of this group.
The play itself is certainly a time capsule for the late 1960s when homosexuality was considered taboo by society. By bringing it into 2020, it becomes a timely reminder of how these characters went through their lives and their need to be accepted. The dialogue remains sharp and emotional that you understand and sympathize with these men all the way through the film. It puts the viewer in that exact time and place that doesn’t feel all that different from the present day.
Fortunately, not much of the dialogue are mouthpieces, unlike Murphy’s previous Netflix production “Hollywood.” Naturally, the movie paces like its theatrical origins with the main characters confined to one small set. Theater fans wouldn’t mind it, but the slow pacing during the long dialogue scenes can be a bit boring for any movie-going viewer. If anything, the set design and costume work perfectly captured the vibrant mood of that era. It certainly brings all that theatrical pedigree to a little Netflix film.
The cast from the revival certainly delivers their same eclectic energy to this adaptation. Parsons is a dangerous force of nature, giving his character a sense of energy and fierce personality. But the real standout is Quinto, who becomes the voice of truth and reason for the story. He’s very enjoyable to watch in every scene he’s in when he drops the hammer hard especially on the main character near the end of the film.
As a Netflix production, “The Boys in the Band” is definitely one of the better Ryan Murphy projects to come out right alongside his regular television fare. As a movie, it works fine as a comedy and a drama with an almost crowd-pleasing sincerity. You need to be in the right mindset to enjoy the laughs and tears.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: R (for sexual content, language, some graphic nudity, and drug use)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.25 Stars (Out of Four)
