Dorian Blues (2005)

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I'm a big fan of the 'coming out / coming of age genre' but DORIAN BLUES left me without a clue as to what all the raves were about. The film's first half hour is marked by clever dialogue, realistic performances and a light comic touch that is fun without being frivolous. But as the film wears on, the script becomes more and more episodic, without satisfactory resolution to any of the episodes. A kooky high school boyfriend story looks like fun, but goes nowhere fast and is dropped. A therapy session storyline (complete with montage) is dumped in favor of a religious cure. This too, is conveniently dispensed with. Some of the film's second half is less than pleasant (an S&M trick, another failed boyfriend) and it is Dorian's inability to resolve his sexual identity issues and the screenwriter's inability to follow through on a satisfying plot that eventually get tiresome. The film also drags things out over too much time. A tighter timeline might have helped keep Dorian and his blues on track.

After watching Dorian Blues, I checked out the reviews at metacritic.com, and I was in absolute shock at the casual way these "experts" tore down one of the best and most original coming of age/coming out films I've seen. Almost everything about this movie is outstanding, from the acting (I've never seen such totally assured performances from an unknown cast in a low budget indie) to the direction (Bardwell is a talent to watch) to the photography and other technical elements that belie the film's modest origins. Dorian Blues skillfully blends comedy with honest dramatic moments, but what stands out the most is its absolute unpredictability. Whenever you feel the story is moving in an expected direction, something invariably surprising will occur. How could any critic have found it "clichéd?" Kudos to the fine performances by Michael McMillian, Lea Coco, Mo Quigley and especially Charles Fletcher as Dorian's nightmare of a father. My only quibbles I'd like to see a director have the wherewithal to cast an actor in a gay role that passes the gaydar test (good as he was, McMillian didn't for me) and have teenage characters played by actors who are the right age for the parts. I'll forgive him these two transgressions because the final result of Dorian Blues is worth 10 stars, especially when compared to a lot of other gay indies out there.

"Dorian Blues" is indeed worth seeing. The acting is considerable. "The story" has been told many times, but this movie has an air of freshness to it, perhaps mostly because of the overall quality of the film. Without losing it's low-voltage current of kindly nature and good humor, this movie came close to showing some deeper levels of inner-struggles of those around a person coming out. Yet the self-absorption of the gay character was allowed to overshadow the likely introspection of the overly macho dad, the gay-friendly quarterback and the not-so-clueless mother.By necessity so many of today's (and yesterday's) independent art films are shot on low budgets and rather poorly produced, but this film appears to have had a big budget and top-quality production. The low-rent "statement films" are getting more difficult to endure (especially @ $9.50 a ticket), yet I understand the need for them.Thanks and Kudos to the producers of "Dorian Blues!"

I loved this movie. Eighteen-year-old Dorian (played by the adorable 27 year-old Michael McMillian) reminds me of most of the guys I've been in love with in my life – brooding, artistic, cynical, and GAY. But more importantly, he's miserable. Dorian wants to come out of the closet, but it's virtually impossible when he lives in a small town, has no gay friends, his brother is the high school star football player, and his father is a judgmental neo-con. Dorian Blues may sound like a depressing drama, but it's actually a hilarious script! When Dorian tells his therapist that he's fallen in love with him, the therapist casually replies, "I love you, too." Dorian says, "No, not like that. Not like you love all of humanity, and I just happen to be one of them." When a kind and sympathetic stripper asks Dorian if he has any gifts, he quickly assures her, "No, not one… not unless you count melancholy, I've got a gift for that." I love this boy! I swear, all the good ones are either taken or gay.