Movie Review ~ Glitter & Doom

I was a late bloomer when it came to the Indigo Girls. Of course, I’d heard the radio-friendly hits that played in every dentist and orthodontist I visited, but it wasn’t until I met my partner and his family that I took a deep dive into their musical poetry. Over the last ten years, I’ve seen them in concert several times and witnessed their power over an audience using simple chords, profound words, and voices that blend like they were always meant to meet.

While a documentary on their career has been playing the festival circuit and is due for release shortly, there’s another project involving the Indigo Girls showing in theaters now and will be making its digital debut in the coming weeks. Arriving like a technicolor dream and shimmering onto the screen as an often-dazzling queer musical, Glitter & Doom sweeps audiences into a world where love is a song, attraction is a dance, and connection is exhilaration. It’s all set to the folk-rock anthems of the Indigo Girls, and though Cory Krueckeberg’s earnest script can send Tom Gustafson’s film spinning out in increasingly indulgent circles of whimsy, the Grammy-winning duo’s earthy tunes are calming reminders of staying true to oneself.

It’s love at first sight for street performer Glitter (effervescently charming Filipino star Alex Diaz) and struggling musician Doom (equally charismatic UK import Alan Cammish). Doom has just been rejected from another gig at La Fountain, a tiny club run by Boston (Lea DeLaria) in an unnamed town (it’s never clear where the movie is supposed to take place or what European country is doubling as that US town), and encounters Glitter while out with friends who are trying to cheer him up. {The script is jammed full of references and lines lifted directly from the Indigo Girls songbook.)

Both are at a crossroads in their lives and must make decisions about their future. Is down on his luck Doom going to continue his work with music, avoiding phone calls from his incarcerated mom (a fantastic Missi Pyle, Unseen), and working a day job that doesn’t fill his cup?  Will rich kid Glitter achieve his dream of attending a prestigious circus school in France, proving to himself and his corporate-minded mother (Ming-Na Wen, The Joy Luck Club) that he can do more than work behind a desk?  For now, they choose to get lost in the moments spent with one another.

Their escapades, weekends spent camping under twinkling stars in a near-Shakespearean forest, engaging in conversations where they bare their souls, and, of course, breaking into spontaneous song-and-dance, are told through a lush storybook aesthetic. As the blissful romance between the characters develops, the real world inevitably worms its way in, testing the strength of their bond. This point of the movie is also when Glitter & Doom begins to show its weakness, with an indulgently drawn-out running time extending the film past what feels like its satisfying climax to a chintzy epilogue that rings false.

Aided by Adela Cortázar’s fanciful costumes rich in color and design, the visual look of Glitter & Doom has a distinctive modern hue and an inclusive vision of romance. In fact, Cortázar’s creations are such eye-catching standouts, heavenly blends of glamour and playfulness befitting the film’s unapologetically romantic spirit, that they sometimes can overshadow the actors wearing them. Though made on a slim budget, Gustafson and his team (many of whom also worked on queer musicals Hello Again and Were the World Mine) have built a bright and buoyant production, even when the mood turns melancholy.

The film operates at its vivid best when basking in the glow of its romantic core and grooving to the solid vocals of its cast. (Pyle is dynamite in this department.)  While some songs are shoehorned with a goofy shove and are frequently more on the nose than jumping off points, a few are used to their maximum power limit to terrific results. (Speaking of on the nose, Glitter obnoxiously wears a clown nose for most of the film, a twee dealbreaker in my book, but to each their own.) Gustafson’s evident warmth toward these characters is reflected in his presentation of their struggles, successes, laughs, and love. Stuffed full of cameos from the LGBTQ+ community, there’s even time to feature an appearance by the Indigo Girls themselves, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, making charming cameos as mystical guides on Glitter and Doom’s journey.

With the enchanting Folk-pop melodies of a legendary duo as its guide, this one-of-a-kind musical has been executed with balanced precision. Audiences craving an old-fashioned love story told through a modern lens of inclusivity will want to open their hearts to Glitter & Doom. Sweet, if overlong, it makes a compelling statement on identity, (com)passion, and how music can be magically transformative.