By Denise Penn
Photo by Ryan Forbes -- www.ryanforbesphotograpy.com

Filmmaker Trish Doolan turns an American tradition upside down in the romantic comedy April 's Shower.

The wedding shower -- an afternoon party thrown by the maid of honor sometime before the wedding -- is an American tradition. Historically, it is an opportunity for the other women to "shower" the bride-to-be with things she will need to set up housekeeping: blenders, cake plates, and the like.

But Trish Doolan and her ensemble cast throw tradition out the door in the film April's Shower, a romantic comedy with some unexpected twists. As the film unfolds, we see Alex (Doolan) in her chef outfit obsessing anxiously over the menu and trying to host the perfect shower for her best friend, April. Her wacky friend Vicki (Denise Miller) can 't help with the menu, but makes sure that the "good booze" is stashed where she can get to it before the other guests arrive. Next enters Alex 's best friend Jake -- in regards to men at the bridal shower, there 's a serious breach of tradition from the get-go. But Jake is your perfect nelly gay boy and is thrilled to be there.

As the eclectic group of invited (and uninvited) guests trickles into the party, it is clear that this is not going to be your typical shower. The guest list includes a neurotic therapist, her Scottish stalker, a repressed heterosexual girl, a hunky pizza delivery man (from Italy!), and others. April's mother, future mother-in-law, and future sister-in-law are about to learn more than they bargained for about gay relationships, gender-bending, and coming out. It 's the kind of shower where you just don 't know what is going to happen next.

Doolan, who wrote, directed and stars in the film, tells about her real-life experiences with wedding showers: "Oh, I hated them. I would go to bridal showers and I would go, 'Isn 't this ridiculous? ' I was always the clown at the shower. How many oohs and ahs are you going to get as the gifts are opened?"

She wanted to make an independent film with a small budget, and the idea struck her to write the screenplay about a party with 10 or 20 of her wackiest friends. If it seems as if the cast of characters really know each other and are having a great time, it is because it 's true. Some of the characters are somewhat stereotypical, but it is done with fun, love, and humor.

Actor Joe Tabanella, who is straight, has known Doolan for years and studied gay men in order to play Jake. "Most people assume I 'm gay when they see the film and I take that as a compliment. Jake has a lot of energy. He 's so happy and excited about the shower. There is so much love on that set and I think it shows up on the screen."

In addition to Tabanella and Miller, Doolan assembled a cast of both new and old friends: Honey Labrador, who is known for being the first lesbian on Bravo 's Queer Eye for the Straight Girl, plays the kooky and intense artist, Sasha. Frank Grillo (Minority Report) plays Rocko the pizza guy, and Maria Cina, who is new to this New York-based ensemble, plays April.

Doolan has been in show business all of her life. She began working in television and film at age 3, sang and danced at Carnegie Hall, and did standup comedy on both coasts. It was important to her to direct the film herself, even though doing it all -- acting, directing, writing, and producing -- might seem overwhelming to some. "I really geared up for this and I did a lot of preparation for this because I knew that I was going to be wearing a lot of hats," she says. "We rehearsed for several weeks before and we had so much fun that when we actually went to shoot, we were just so fluid with each other that it was like the relationships between the characters were real. We shot in one house, which I live in, so I had the luxury to have this space and know my blocking and everything before we ever went to film. That really made my job as a director a lot easier."

Tabanella recalls the reaction of the audience when the film premiered at Outfest: "The majority of the audience at Outfest were women, and they loved it," he says. "They were laughing and clapping during the credits -- you know they really like it when they clap when the credits are rolling."

The film won the Best Lesbian Feature Award at the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, but had already established an international fan base, winning Best Picture awards in both France and Italy, where it was the only gay film in competition in either festival. Doolan recalls the audience reaction to the coming-out scene at the Italian festival: "Women were standing and they were crying before the film was even over. I wasn 't sure what was going on at first until my Italian friend told me that they were standing to honor the movie. They are all very closeted there because it is still not very well accepted there to be a lesbian. They were on their feet, walking out, and grabbing me speaking Italian -- it was very, very moving to see so many people touched by this. I got letters from women saying 'Thank you. '"

Doolan thinks the film has crossover appeal because there are both gay and straight characters and some that defy labeling "We did some question-and-answer sessions at film festivals. What I was trying to get across was that in life, as in April 's Shower, everybody is going through this together. And you never know what life is going to throw down to you; you just don 't know what kind of twists and turns your life will take. I really believe that it 's all about love."

"I 'm a big believer in trusting timing," she continues. "I used to go to the Laemmle Sunset 5 Theater and close my eyes and picture April 's Shower on the marquee -- and now there it is."

April 's Shower opens at Laemmle 's Sunset 5 Theater on Jan. 13. Tickets are available at www.laemmle.com. The film is also airing this month on here! For more information, see www.heretv.com.