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"Bottoms," "The Blue Caftan" & "Blue Jean"

From left: Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri in Bottoms (2023); Ayoub Missioui and Saleh Bakri in The Blue Caftan (2022); Rosy McEwen in Blue Jean (2023).
Bottoms, Brownstone Prod./Orion Pics./MGM/United Artists Releasing, 2023. The Blue Caftan, Les Films du Nouveau Monde/Snowglobe/Ali n' Prod./Velvet Films/Strand Releasing, 2022. Blue Jean, BBC Film/BFI Film Fund/Great Point Media/Kleio Films/Magnolia Pics., 2022.
From left: Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott in Bottoms (2023); Ayoub Missioui and Saleh Bakri in The Blue Caftan (2022); Rosy McEwen in Blue Jean (2023).

After nearly a century of being included in popular cinema mainly as an afterthought, a comic foil or even as a villain, the LGBTQ+ community is finally defining itself on its own terms. On this week’s show, Dan Webster, Nathan Weinbender, and Mary Pat Treuthart will be discussing a trio of films featuring LGBTQ+ characters. First up is the American teen comedy Bottoms, followed by two foreign efforts: Morocco’s The Blue Caftan and England’s Blue Jean.

Related Content
  • “The Blue Caftan” is a story of love and loyalty that avoids the standard tropes of a three-way romance, Dan Webster says in his review.
  • Since premiering at South by Southwest, the R-rated teen comedy “Bottoms” has been pegged as a future cult classic. Nathan Weinbender says it’s not as great as its inspirations, but it’s a funny, well-cast oddity.