The Boys in the Band Movie Storyline. In 1968 New York City – when being gay was still considered to be best kept behind closed doors – a group of friends gather for a raucous birthday party hosted by Michael (Jim Parsons), a screenwriter who spends and drinks too much, in honor of the sharp-dressed and sharp-tongued Harold (Zachary Quinto).
Other partygoers include Donald (Matt Bomer), Michael’s former flame, now mired in self-analysis; Larry (Andrew Rannells), a randy commercial artist living with Hank (Tuc Watkins), a school teacher who has just left his wife; Bernard (Michael Benjamin Washington), a librarian tiptoeing around fraught codes of friendship alongside Emory (Robin de Jesús), a decorator who never holds back; and a guileless hustler (Charlie Carver) hired to be Harold’s gift for the night.
What begins as an evening of drinks and laughs gets upended when Alan (Brian Hutchison), Michael’s straight-laced college roommate, shows up unexpectedly and each man is challenged to confront long-buried truths that threaten the foundation of the group’s tight bond.
The Boys in the Band is a 2020 American drama film directed by Joe Mantello, based on the 1968 play of the same name by Mart Crowley, who also wrote the screenplay alongside Ned Martel. Crowley had previously adapted The Boys in the Band for a 1970 film version directed by William Friedkin and starring the original 1968 Off-Broadway cast.
The film stars the full roster of players from the play’s 2018 Broadway revival, comprising a cast of exclusively openly-gay actors, such as Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer, Andrew Rannells, Charlie Carver, Robin de Jesús, Brian Hutchison, Michael Benjamin Washington, and Tuc Watkins. The film was released on September 30, 2020, by Netflix.
The Boys in the Band (2020)
Directed by: Joe Mantello
Starring: Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer, Andrew Rannells, Charlie Carver, Robin de Jesús, Brian Hutchison, Michael Benjamin Washington, Tuc Watkins, Peter Epstein, Zackry Colston
Screenplay by: Mart Crowley, Ned Martel
Production Design by: Judy Becker
Cinematography by: Bill Pope
Film Editing by: Adriaan van Zyl
Costume Design by: Lou Eyrich
Set Decoration by: Gene Serdena
Art Direction by: Kiel Gookin, Annie Simeone, Alexander Wei
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content, language, some graphic nudity and drug use.
Distributed by: Netflix
Release Date: September 30, 2020
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