For years it was argued that way too much attention went to gay men, who consistently eclipsed the concerns of their dyke counterparts. Thus sapphic director Rose Troche--who made such a splash with her debut feature Go Fish--risked getting some criticism for making a film entirely about gay male characters.

Bedrooms & Hallways, out this month on video and DVD, is her comedy of manners, featuring a fella who's grappling with some kind of very-early-middle-age crisis, having just turned 30. He's trying to get in touch with himself and finds a certain degree of comfort through a group therapy session he regularly attends. As the members of the group reveal their deepest desires, everyone's sexuality suddenly becomes far more ambiguous and fluid than expected.

There are some funny moments in Bedrooms, for sure, and the ensemble Troche has assembled is excellent. But the film's overall impact is compromised by the script, which soon loses direction and never quite regains it. The characters all seem to be there, but the plot and pacing fail them.

Worth a look is Midnight Dancers, the unblinking portrait of three Filipino brothers who work in the sex trade. The film offers a glimpse of rarely-seen queer life, and obviously revealed a bit too much for Filipino authorities, who banned the film there. :

--Matthew Hays