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The Boys in the Band Movie Review

The Boys in the Band is a 2020 drama film directed by Joe Mantello and starring Jim Parsons and Zachary Quinto among many others. It’s a respectable remake.

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“Beware the hostile fag.

When he’s sober, he’s dangerous.

When he drinks, he’s lethal“

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The movie is based on the eponymous 1968 play, which was before turned into a now classic film in 1970. Produced by Ryan Murphy and directed by Joe Mantello, both had previously appeared in ‘Hollywood’, this version is pretty much a straight remake that doesn’t have that many new additions or changes in it.

And that was a problem for me as a big opponent of shot by shot remakes. However, there are some interesting touches that this production incorporates that somewhat differentiate it from its predecessor. Of particular note are the cinematic flourishes in the form of the flashbacks. Essentially, most characters share their life stories during the climactic telephone game of the third act, and unlike the original film, we get to see those stories as they vividly come to life in the form of small flashes of history and nostalgia with the pool scene being particularly elegant and sensual.

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Yes, Joe Mantello is actually a really competent director as his direction here is truly commendable. One could say that this remake is better than the original in terms of technical aspects and one would not be wrong in that estimation. The cinematography is particularly striking, very warm and with a great color palette to it. The beginning and the ending also feature added scenes of the men separated as they either arrive or leave Michael’s apartment and those make the film much more cinematic than its predecessor. This apartment set is also meticulously crafted and truly memorable.

Still though, despite its technical prowess, the film fails to resonate emotionally or thematically in as great of a capacity as the first film due to its obviously overly faithful, even rehashed approach to storytelling. There are some lines of dialogue that are repeated verbatim. I do realize the importance of this source material and that many scenes should never be changed, but still I wanted a bit more originality and freshness to this remake. Otherwise, it felt quite unnecessary, though again competent throughout.

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Just like the first picture, this one also incorporates all out gay men for all of the actors, which was a necessary, great choice that paid off as all of these actors delivered excellent performances. It’s a testament to their talents that everybody delivered and the casting is particularly fantastic with almost nobody feeling out of place or awkwardly cast.

Charlie Carver as the hustler is actually much more memorable than Robert La Tourneaux ever was in the first film. He is so dumb, yet so naïve and sweet as the film cleverly hints at the appeal of such men, especially to someone like Harold. Speaking of Harold, Zachary Quinto is amazing in the role. The wardrobe and makeup team did a great job for this entire film, but especially for him they made him look the same as he was in the original thankfully so. Quinto’s performance is terrific and actually a bit warmer than the character had been before.

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This Boys in the Band showcases that despite all of their self-hatred and insults, these are all great friends deep down, and especially in Harold and Michael’s great relationship is that evident. Jim Parsons is fantastic, very commanding and he is by far the best actor of the bunch. Matt Bomer is fine, but less memorable as underwritten Donald, Robin de Jesus is a lot of fun as over-the-top Emory, Brian Hutchison is serviceable as Alan, Michael Benjamin Washington is pretty good as Bernard and Andrew Rannells and Tuc Watkins are both excellent as Larry and Hank. Their relationship is stupendously realized and one of the highlights this time around.

Although the dialogue is repeated verbatim way too often and the film is way too similar to the original play adaptation, the 2020 version of The Boys in the Band is still a very competent remake that is so well directed by Joe Mantello, meticulously crafted in set and costumes and gorgeously shot, especially in those elegant flashbacks. The casting was also excellent and the standouts include always talented Jim Parsons, stupendous Zachary Quinto and memorable Andrew Rannells. Ultimately, it is overly safe, but a fine adaptation nonetheless.

My Rating – 4