Memoirist Kilmer-Purcell (I Am Not Myself These Days
) tells the sad tale of wannabe TV star Jayson Blocher, a suburban high school student in the 1980s Midwest. After writing and starring in his home-shot, gay coming-of-age soap, Dallasty!
Jayson sets his sights on Hollywood. A rogue Dallasty!
screening sets off pandemonium, so Jayson's alcoholic mother sends Jayson to his father, which leads to a seamy romp through the gay semicelebrity scene of New York and L.A as AIDS emerges. And when Jayson actually does get his big Hollywood break, it is no surprise that his connection to his mother deteriorates further. Kilmer-Purcell certainly has interesting and tough-minded things to say about being young, gay and celebrity-obsessed in the 1980s, but the characters aren't strong enough to withstand the rollicking plot. (June)
