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The Boys in the Band - Review: 2 hours that feel like 2 minutes

 

The Boys in the Band

Have you ever sat with your friends for a night of laughter and a good talk? Have you ever been to a party that… didn’t go that well? That is what happens in The Boys in the Band, and it is surprisingly perfect.

More than anything, have fun

The movie has many funny moments that make you laugh, while others may make you cringe a bit. Either way, you’ll have a good time watching it.

99% of the movie is a birthday party that didn’t go that well… At some point, things get kind of heavy, and discomfort invades the room. Well, who never?

The most curious thing for me was that I never would have thought this would work. Who would think that a bunch of guys arguing in a room for 2 hours would make such a good movie? I wouldn’t have thought I'd want to watch something like that, not even half of it. Yet, when the movie was over, I asked, “Already?” It felt like 20 minutes had passed instead of 2 hours, and that is the biggest compliment you can give a piece of entertainment.

Good text, good pace, good actors

The way it was shot worked perfectly. Maybe it's because most of the movie happens in the same room, or because of some camera perspective I know nothing about; you feel like you’re there. You are at that party. You feel like dancing, and at times you feel uncomfortable. You may even feel like sharing. Perhaps you’ll want to stop Michael (Jim Parsons) from hurting the others when it is pretty clear that his biggest issues are with himself. A tremendous protagonist, a fantastic character, interpreted by an amazing actor.

The text is excellent, exceptionally well written; you never lose interest. It has a good pace, and the fantastic cast makes it shine even more. Talking about the cast, this is what inclusion means. Well done!

60s Context

A group of gay friends celebrates one of their birthdays inside a house in the 1960s. What seems so natural now was illegal then. They couldn’t be there; they couldn’t socialize. They couldn’t exist. 

The rising tension the author creates brings up so much. The fears, despair, and sometimes confusion that those men needed to bear… in silence. In a time when everything was illegal for them, they can’t be ignored anymore.

That was the goal of the original play, the basis of this movie. The play was a true revolution and a significant risk for all involved in the production. Again, it is an excellent piece of writing.

Beyond the Movie

My advice for you is to watch the movie. After that, you should also watch the short documentary (also available on Netflix) to better understand the play's original context. It is about half an hour of fascinating information that contextualizes what you watched. It includes historical information and interviews with the author and the actors.

Overall, The Boys in the Band is a great movie you must watch. 

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