Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
The Extinction of Fireflies is a comedy about James (Drew Droege), an older gay man who is having friends over for the weekend to review his latest play. His friends are Jay (Michael Urie), a young actor eager to get his career off the ground; Callisto (Kario Marcel), Jay’s boyfriend; and Charlotte (Tracie Bennett), an older, well-known actress.
The film opens with Jay and James reading a scene from James’ play. Jay’s boyfriend, Callisto, is due to arrive later that evening so Jay needs to watch how much he drinks.
Charlotte arrives the next day and meets Jay. Soon James comes into the scene, followed by Callisto, who is wearing a tight bathing suit. And from here, the movie gets rolling.
Some Thoughts:
Although The Extinction of Fireflies is promoted as a comedy, there are no comic moments. I’m not sure if the lack of amusing interactions is due to bad acting and direction or if there actually are no funny moments. I did not laugh or crack a smile once while watching this mess.
Nothing in The Extinction of Fireflies seems natural, down to the characters’ movements. It’s reminiscent of a high school play, with actors waiting for their lines and intentionally moving around to keep everybody in the shot.
While the script isn’t horrendous, the lines often feel self-important. A better cast might be able to make the dialogue sound natural, but the pretentiousness would still be there. Scene’s that should have emotional impact have stripped of any feeling due to bad acting and dialogue that tries too hard to sound meaningful.
Much of the story hinges on Jay and Callisto’s relationship, despite it never being fully explored. All we know is what Jay tells us, which is how smart and perfect Callisto is. It isn’t until Callisto gets flirty with James that we begin to realize that something is wrong in paradise.
Later in the film, when Callisto makes a pass at James, things get a bit weird. James opens up to Callisto about how his boyfriend died from AIDS complications and ha a moment. Callisto listens, then walks into the house while talking about how much he likes James’ house. It’s a confusing scene that’s not well done.
Each scene is supposed to build to a dramatic conclusion, but it never gets there. If the script paid more attention to character development and less time on “smart” dialogue, the viewer would feel a connection to the characters. But it doesn’t, so instead we get a tedious bore of a film.
The Final Verdict:
Awful directing and bad acting make The Extinction of Fireflies a dreadful viewing experience. If you want to see this type of comedic drama done well, check out The Boys in the Band (1970).
