Q CINEMA PRESENTS
8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26 at the Four
Day Weekend Theater, 312 Houston St., downtown (next door to Reata).
Tickets are $7, $5 for students, and are available at the venue beginning
an hour before showtime.
"Sharp performances and writing lend
it a fresh appeal well above this genre's average."
-- Daily Variety, s
After a rousing 2004, Q Cinema kicks off an all new year with the return of our monthly film series beginning Jan. 26 with the Fort Worth premiere of the charming coming-out tale Dorian Blues. Join us for a cocktail before the film and stick around afterward for drinks, noshes, music and stimulating conversation in the theater's Encore lounge. We'll have DVD prizes, information on upcoming films and well as details on how to become involved with Q Cinema.
Brimming with wit and originality, Dorian Blues magnificently proves that the coming-out genre is evergreen. First-time feature director Tennyson Bardwell reinvests the universal story form with novelty and delight, like fresh air in the tire of a faithful old ten-speed. Bright, charming -- and closeted -- Dorian finds himself at a crossroads. Harassed as a probable "fag" at high school and overlooked by his family (especially his overbearing, right-wing father), Dorian is ready for his getaway to New York City and college. But something uncontrollable stirs in him, and suddenly he's talking back to his father, making out with another guy for the first time and admitting his gay feelings to his sports-star brother. Ricocheted this way and that by his inner voice, Dorian finds himself in one absurd and awkward situation after another, as he seeks enlightenment and happiness with the help of a cute therapist, a well-meaning priest and a first boyfriend. Along the way, life rewards Dorian's haplessness with the chance to see that he can be as strong for others as he's had to be for himself. Bardwell's ingenious screenplay embellishes familiar milestones with an exhilarating quirkiness and the intoxicating suggestion that each of us is eminently loveable, even at our most geeky. Boasting superb performances by a cast of relative newcomers (capped by Michael McMillian of TV's What I Like About You as Dorian), Dorian Blues heralds the arrival of an exciting new filmmaking talent.
"Like most people out there, I thought the coming-out film had somewhat worn out its welcome, especially on the festival circuit," says artistic director Todd Camp. "But after seeing this picture at Philadelphia's gay film fest, I was reminded of how much more there is to say and how easy it is to reconnect with this painful phase in life even if we think we've seen it all before."
Dorian Blues screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26 at the Four Day Weekend Theater, 312 Houston St., downtown (next door to Reata). Tickets are $7, $5 for students, and are available at the venue beginning an hour before showtime.
HBO Outstanding First Narrative Feature 2004; Audience Award (Narrative) -- Lake Placid Film Festival 2004; Best Feature Film -- Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival 2004; Best Feature Film -- Long Island International Film Expo; Best First Feature -- Outfest, Los Angeles; Best Screenplay -- NewFest, New York Gay & Lesbian Film Festival