'Glitter & Doom' REVIEW: Bops Endure Beyond the Film's Split Ambitions
‘Glitter & Doom’ REVIEW: Bops Endure Beyond the Film’s Split Ambitions
Alan Cammish and Alex Diaz in Glitter & Doom / Speak/TBD, Taken from IMDB
Musicals will always be part of cinema’s long standing legacy. Even though they get crowded out among other kinds of blockbusters these days, there’s always a musical that defines every generation. Glitter & Doom might not be the defining musical for this generation, or for its target audience, but it has enough toe-tapping charm in its step to be a good watch.
Glitter wants to go to clown college, despite his mother’s disapproval. Doom wants to be a singer-songwriter, but can’t win over the bar owner with his song choices. Their meet-cute is the start of their charmed romance, bringing them through a whirlwind of highs and obstacles that go along with pursuing their dreams.
On paper, it’s a story that’s nothing new. But this is a musical, after all, tuned to a pop reconfiguration of songs by Indigo Girls, which breathes some joie de vivre into the proceedings.
The Indigo Girls propelled into stardom since their breakthrough, despite roadblocks like misogyny and homophobia limiting their success. Nevertheless, their music continues to bring in many fans. Even recently, their signature song “Closer to Fine” showed up in the 2023 megahit Barbie.
The Grammy-winning duo also have a documentary, It’s Only Life After All, on the horizon tracing their artistry and legacy as queer individuals and queer icons. It’s the kind of legacy that does warrant the idea of a jukebox musical carried by their songs.
But Glitter & Doom only fulfills half of its ambitions. It’s definitely a queer-affirming tale of romance, but the obstacles it presents through their relationships with their mothers feel like speed bumps that don’t present the real dangers of what their lives would become if they are separated.
The musical numbers occasionally show flashes of brilliance, especially the first time they sing “Get Out the Map.” But more often than not, these numbers can’t resist cutting themselves like hyper-attentive music videos that demand attention instead of letting its details breathe.
“Shed Your Skin & Touch Me Fall” coasts on the charms of its lovers but lacks the seductive appeal of making its dancefloor ambitions distinct, while the scene it’s paired with falls victim to its aforementioned impulses.
When “Closer to Fine & Everything In Its Own Time” finally comes on, the film feels the need to pump it with as much plot as possible instead of scaling back by staying in the moment with its leads.
Alan Cammish and Alex Diaz carry the weight of the film’s charms, and they mostly succeed. Cammish has an earnestness that reflects the virtues of the lyrics he’s singing, and Diaz — whose character happens to have a camera he uses as a diary — devours every opportunity to play to the camera.
The mileage on their chemistry varies. Their first conversation in a diner late at night feels loaded with infectious tension, but their moment of physical intimacy feels more like a checklist item ticked for the audience’s affections.
The delightful supporting roles and cameos from familiar names (Ming Na-wen and Missy Pyle as Glitter and Doom’s mother’s, respectively; Lea DeLaria, Tig Notaro doing a French accent, among others) make for more than welcome appearances, though it would have been nice to see how a community of queer individuals would inform and enliven the romance that blooms between Glitter and Doom. It must have been quite a splendid time on set for the Indigo Girls themselves to show up and contribute an original song, “What We Wanna Be,” to the film.
Glitter & Doom’s ambitions are imbued with surreal qualities that almost nudge it into camp territory. However, it freezes in the middle of trying to color within the lines of the Indigo Girls’ lyrics and pushing into the off-kilter world that surrounds a well-off street performer and struggling musician.
If it trusted its surreal traits and doubled down on it, maybe the film could become a campy cult classic. As it is, Glitter & Doom remains suited for Indigo Girls completists, or for those who stumble upon it, a welcome gateway into Indigo Girls fandom with much more to offer in their music.
