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The Boys in the Band

The Boys in the Band

Drama · 2020

At a birthday party in 1968 New York, a surprise guest and a drunken game leave seven gay friends reckoning with unspoken feelings and buried truths.

Movie details

The Boys in the Band

2020 Drama 2h 2m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

At a birthday party in 1968 New York, a surprise guest and a drunken game leave seven gay friends reckoning with unspoken feelings and buried truths.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Boys in the Band?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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The Boys in the Band

The Boys in the Band

Drama · 1970

Harold is celebrating a birthday, and his friend Michael has drafted some other friends to help commemorate the event. As the evening progresses, an unexpected guest shows up, the alcohol flows, the knives come out, and dormant and unspoken emotions are unleashed.

An Englishman in New York

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Biographical drama based on the last 20 years of Crisp's life. The literary figure and gay iconoclast emigrated to New York in 1981 and lived there until his death. The film observes Crisp in both his public and private lives, from his seemingly cavalier response to the outbreak of AIDS to his tender relationship with his friend Patrick Angus and his own response to growing old.

Othello

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Drama · 1995

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My Brother the Devil

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Drama · 2012

Fourteen-year-old Mo is a lonely, sensitive boy whose hunger for the rant and banter of buddies makes him prone to tread dangerous territories. He idolizes his handsome older brother, Rashid, a charismatic, well-respected member of a local gang, whose drug dealing enables “Rash” to provide for his family. Aching to be seen as a tough guy himself, Mo takes a job that unlocks a fateful turn of events and forces the brothers to confront their inner demons. It turns out that hate is easy. It is love and understanding that take real courage.

Midnight Cowboy

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The Normal Heart

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The story of the onset of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City in the early 1980s, taking an unflinching look at the nation's sexual politics as gay activists and their allies in the medical community fight to expose the truth about the burgeoning epidemic to a city and nation in denial.

Stonewall

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Battle of the Year

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Joe Mantello

Written by

Mart Crowley · Ned Martel

Jim Parsons

Jim Parsons

Michael

Zachary Quinto

Zachary Quinto

Harold

Matt Bomer

Matt Bomer

Donald

Andrew Rannells

Andrew Rannells

Larry

Michael Benjamin Washington

Michael Benjamin Washington

Bernard

Robin de Jesús

Robin de Jesús

Emory

Tuc Watkins

Tuc Watkins

Hank

Court is in session

Put The Boys in the Band on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.