Dorian Blues
TLA Releasing | Release Date: September 23, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
13
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Dorian Blues covers extremely familiar territory, but does so with low-key wit and ingratiating charm. Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
Eschews the heavy sexual content (and most of the clichés) of so many gay films -- it also has a lot of heart. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJoshua Katzman
Bardwell manages a sincere portrait of what it's like to be young and closeted. Read full review
60
VarietyDennis Harvey
Sharp performances and writing lend it a fresh appeal well above this genre's average. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
With some gentle humor that will delight the "Napoleon Dynamite" set, Dorian Blues lights a natural little footpath between two ways of living. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
With its moments of comic relief overly exaggerated and at odds with its realistic tone, Dorian Blues is at its best at its most serious. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
Inconsequential but intermittently charming. Read full review
60
Dallas ObserverMelissa Levine
Its smarmy resolution just doesn't work; the lessons learned are a bit too medicinal. But we're willing to forgive, since it's otherwise a good-natured and enjoyable ride. Read full review
60
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
It doesn't open up much new territory, except to eschew much of the dark, frank sexuality that has characterized such recent sexual coming-of-age movies as "Mysterious Skin." Instead, Bardwell offers a cheerful, if sometimes strenuously earnest, take on a subject that seems overdue for a lighthearted touch. Read full review
50
Village VoiceDanial Adkison
Inhabiting the breezeway between the sweet sincerity of "Beautiful Thing" and the didacticism of an ABC "Afterschool Special," this upstate New York coming-out saga will warm PFLAG hearts and kindle empathy in those who've had to tread the family-drama-churned waters of small-town gaydom. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
The buoyant McMillan is a charming presence, but he's entirely miscast as a character described as moody and angry. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyErnest Hardy
Dorian Blues is full of similarly rigged moments, but there are genuine chuckles, and a palpably heartfelt final scene between Dorian and his mom ends the tale on a powerful note. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Even if the story is hackneyed, it's hackneyed in a warm and universal way. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
The movie's third act goes astray as the storyline shifts to Dorian's dating problems, which seem an overextended tangent to his coming-out story. Still, the film has a lot of playful dialogue and pixillated montages. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleNeva Chonin
Doesn't transcend the yawner template of coming-out films. Read full review
20
Film ThreatPhil Hall
Has a terrible air of been-there/done-that. Read full review
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