The Boys In The Band (1970) ****

"Donald, you are a real card-carrying cunt."

Based on Mart Crowley's (who also wrote the screenplay) 1968 play, William Friedkin's The Boys In The Band (1970) (which utilized the entire stage cast) involves a group of queens in Manhattan at a birthday party crashed by a square, hetero (?) friend. Full of manic energy, acerbic dialogue delivered in rapid-fire succession, and dramatic camerawork, Friedkin's film is a funny but sad, self-reflexive, self-criticizing, and self-pitying work—tackling stereotypes while remaining humanist.

"What's so fucking funny?"

"Life. Life's a goddamn laugh riot."

William Friedkin Feature Films Ranked