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.
Review of Dorian Blues
