Dorian Blues

Critics Consensus

Dorian Blues has a familiar outline, but it's filled in with enough sharp writing and solid performances to forgive the sense of déjà vu.

65%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 23

66%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 1,926
User image

Dorian Blues Photos

View All Photos (4)

Movie Info

A young man comes to terms with growing up gay in this independent comedy drama. Dorian (Michael McMillian) is a 17-year-old guy living with his family in Upstate New York. Dorian is obviously the second-rate sibling in his household; his older brother Nicky (Lea Coco) is a hotshot athlete who gets the lion's share of attention from their father Tom (Steven Charles Fletcher), while their mother Maria (Mo Quigley) seems too zoned out to pay much mind to anyone. The fact that Dorian is an awkward social misfit is bad enough, but what troubles him even more is the fact he's slowly coming to the realization that he's gay. When Dorian breaks the news to Nicky, his big brother is surprised but accepting, but Tom doesn't handle the news nearly as well, and Dorian is on the outs with his dad as he begins his first semester at New York University. At NYU, Dorian has his first satisfying relationship with fellow student Ben (Cody Nickell), but his first heartbreak soon follows, leaving him in a vulnerable spot when he gets some bad news from home. Dorian Blues was the first feature film from writer and director Tennyson Bardwell.

Cast

Michael McMillian
as Dorian Lagatos
Steven C. Fletcher
as Tom Lagatos
Mo Quigley
as Maria Lagatos
Steven Charles Fletcher
Lea Coco
as Nicky Lagatos
Ryan Kelly Berkowitz
as Tiffany
Chris Dallman
as Andrew
Austin Basis
as Spooky
Leslie Elliard
as Therapist
Sian Heder
as Ellie
Cody Nickell
as Ben
Jeff Paul
as Social Worker
John Abele
as Ben's Father
Richard Burke
as Muscles
Ryan Garrett
as Locker Bully
Portia Kamons
as Mrs. Polk
Michelle Summerlin
as Ben's Mother
View All

Critic Reviews for Dorian Blues

All Critics (23) | Top Critics (10)

View All Critic Reviews (23)

Audience Reviews for Dorian Blues

  • Mar 15, 2015
    Low-budget with decent acting and a pleasant script. It's nice that a light hand was applied to a film that could have been overwrought.
    Christian C Super Reviewer
  • Mar 13, 2011
    This movie was such a pleasure for me because I saw a lot of personal experience parallels. I had no brother but the story is made so much more fun because of the brother. Fun movie!
    Thomas J Super Reviewer
  • Nov 18, 2009
    Having recently watched what amounts to a seemingly endless parade of terrible excuses for GLBT Cinema, finally I have found a gem again and had my faith restored. <i>Dorian Blues</i> has obviously been made on the cheap but the incisive, relevant and realistic writing and winning lead performance (Michael McMillian) help sell this touching film. Dorian's family is fairly typical in terms of this kind of film but the interactions between him and his elder brother and his complicated relationship with his father are deftly played and the confrontation at the end of the film by his friends and his mother both surprises and feels utterly accurate and doubly poignant for that. Dorian himself is a fantastic character - quick witted but not selfish with it, he is friendly, charming, slightly goofy but with an undercurrent of quiet rage that he does not have an outlet for. This is a quietly brilliant film.
    Daniel P Super Reviewer
  • Dec 14, 2008
    Obviously low budget. Mediocre acting. Starts out promising and then becomes a soapy bunch of whiners feeling sorry for themselves.
    Sunil J Super Reviewer
See all Audience reviews

Dorian Blues Quotes

There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.

News & Features