We'll probably never know conclusively what percentage of society is gay. But even Pat Robertson would have to concede that the dependable arthouse staple—the low-budget coming-of-age comedy-drama—represents more than 10% of coming-of-age movies. The reasons for this surplus are easy to understand. Movies with gay themes have found a lucrative niche in the independent film world. What's more, gay coming-of-age sagas come ready-made with a slew of dramatic elements, from wrestling with religious issues to coming out to friends to weathering the contempt and condemnation of conservative family members.
Fresh off a sizable winning streak at numerous semi-obscure film festivals, Dorian Blues doesn't aspire to reinvent the sub-genre so much as imbue its well-worn conventions with warmth and sincerity. The charming Michael McMillan anchors the film as its droll narrator and protagonist, a gay teen understandably anxious about coming out to his angry, authoritarian, hard-drinking father. The film's superior first half deftly juggles wry comedy and wrenching drama as it documents McMillan's fitful attempts at coming out, while the second half skips ahead years to chronicle a series of major crises in McMillan's life, from the dissolution of his first real relationship to family drama.
Dorian Blues covers extremely familiar territory, but does so with low-key wit and ingratiating charm. McMillan has the lanky frame, good looks, and dry delivery of a more effete Topher Grace and writer-director Tennyson Bardwell excels in shepherding him through moments of unexpected connection, like an early trip to a prostitute that morphs into an impromptu dance lesson. Characters that could easily have come off as glib stereotypes are instead drawn with affection and depth, like McMillan's initially disapproving but ultimately sympathetic jock brother. The world isn't exactly demanding another flatly filmed, micro-budgeted gay coming-of-age movie, but hopefully there will always be a place in film for sleepers as winning and humane as Dorian Blues.