''Red Ribbon Blues'' is a 1996

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

with classic heist/caper elements and written and directed by

Charles Winkler Charles Winkler is an American television and film director and producer. He is the son of Academy Award-winning producer and director Irwin Winkler and actress Margo Winkler. He was married to actress Sandra Nelson from 1998 until their divorc ...

and starring

Paul Mercurio Paul Joseph Mercurio (born 31 March 1963) is an Australian actor, dancer, TV presenter and politician. Mercurio is best known for his lead role in '' Strictly Ballroom'' 1992 and his role as a judge on TV series '' Dancing with the Stars''. ...

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

, and

Debi Mazar Deborah Anne Mazar Corcos (; born August 13, 1964) is an American actress and television personality, known for playing sharp-tongued women. She began her career with supporting roles in ''Goodfellas'' (1990), ''Little Man Tate'' (1991) and ''Si ...

. The film played the gay and lesbian

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

circuit in 1996.

Synopsis

Troy (

) and Duke (

) have attended dozens of funerals for friends who have died of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

. Many of them were unable to afford the prohibitively expensive drugs they needed to stay alive. With their own funds running low, Troy and Duke decide to stage a series of robberies, stealing supplies of the life-saving drugs. Their heists are so successful that they're soon able to begin distributing medications throughout the community.

Cast

as Troy *

as Darcy *

as "Duke" *

John Epperson John Epperson (born April 24, 1955) is an American drag artist, actor, pianist, vocalist, and writer who is mainly known for creating his stage character Lypsinka. As Lypsinka he lip-synchs to meticulously edited, show-length soundtracks culle ...

as Harold *

Lisa Waltz Lisa Waltz is an American actress who has had roles in many television shows and who played Nora in the film adaptation of ''Brighton Beach Memoirs''. Personal life Waltz was born and raised in Limerick, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Bobby and ...

as "Bones" *

David Spielberg David Spielberg (March 6, 1939 – June 1, 2016) was an American television and film actor. Early years Spielberg was born in Weslaco, Texas, and was a resident of Mercedes, Texas. His father was a Romanian-Jewish immigrant, and his mother was a ...

as Yorkin *

Leland Orser Leland Jones Orser (born August 6, 1960) is an American actor. He has appeared in numerous film and television roles, notably as Lucien Dubenko in the television series '' ER'' (2004–2009) and Sam Gilroy in the '' Taken'' film series (2008–20 ...

as James * Alan Boyce as Craig * Gabriella Lamiel as Nadine Scott * Robert Sherman as Alex *

Steve Park Stephen Park (born August 23, 1967) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He won races in NASCAR's two top Northeast touring series ( Modified and K&N East) and all three national divisions (Truck, Busch, Cup Series). Park ...

as Kris Lee * Margo Winkler as Helen * Lee Mathis as Francis *

Paul Bartel Paul Bartel (August 6, 1938 – May 13, 2000) was an American actor, writer and director. He was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy ''Eating Raoul'', which he wrote, starred in and directed. Bartel appeared in over 90 movies and ...

as Fred, The Pharmacist *

as Angry Man With Shotgun

Reception

Steve Persall of the

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single y ...

praised the film, comparing its "lighter-in-tone" storyline to

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

. He rated the film with a B+.

Awards and nominations

It was nominated for a Special Grand Prize at

Deauville Film Festival The Deauville American Film Festival (french: Festival du cinéma américain de Deauville, link=no) is a yearly film festival devoted to American cinema, which has taken place since 1975 in Deauville, France. It was established by Lionel Cho ...

References

External links

* 1996 films 1996 comedy-drama films 1990s heist films American LGBT-related films American comedy-drama films American heist films HIV/AIDS in American films Films scored by John Frizzell (composer) 1996 LGBT-related films 1990s English-language films Films directed by Charles Winkler 1990s American films {{1990s-comedy-drama-film-stub