April’s ShowerRating: * 1/2Type: Comedy/RomanceLength: 98 minutesMPAA Rating: RCast: Maria Cina, Trish Doolan, Joe Tabbanella, Zack WardDirector: Trish DoolanPlaying: Galaxy Cinema

“A lesbian can get pregnant, and I can’t?” and with that last, darting quip, April’s Shower enters into its final, excruciating 15 minutes of dramatic dialogue that transcends all thoughts that one would expect for a typical wedding shower. But that seems to be the nature of this beast of a film anyway — it’s far from typical, and at times it’s outright weird.

April’s Shower is a film that relies solely on its clever, yet often dry and cliche dialogue — evidence A: The clever play on words that is the title — to carry a seemingly complex plot played out in a mundane fashion. In fact, the outline of the film is so drab it seems “played out” in itself — think My Best Friend’s Wedding meets The L Word, or even any daytime soap flagged for its blatant homosexual connotations.

Beneath the fog is a tale of a chef, Alex (Trish Doolan), who hosts a wedding shower for her best friend, April (Maria Cina). While the story does not go beyond that day, the drama branches into a cataclysm that could have flowed much smoother had it been carried through several days — or even weeks. Do not be mistaken, however– April’s Shower is not just a story of a girly girl’s dream wedding shower; rather, when April finally arrives at her party, Alex unleashed a tidbit of information that sends April’s mother’s head spinning and the guests’ jaws to the ground. Not so subtly, Alex announces to an eclectic group of friends and relatives that she and April had actually been lovers, and April had left her for Paulie (Randall Batinkoff) — April’s fiance.

On that shocking note, the wedding shower soon becomes a “who’s done it?” for lesbians and those who are curious.

The idea for the film is far from cliche, but the character’s personas and the dialogue are anything but original. The flamboyantly gay friend who lusts for the pizza delivery boy; the posh friend; the obnoxious, naive outcast; the therapist; there’s even a British friend and a posh lesbian who brings her relationship drama to the party. The cliches are limitless for the film’s characters — except for the redhead living upstairs, August (Zack Ward).

Now, if the name Zack Ward doesn’t ring a bell, don’t be ashamed. Think of him this way: Scut Farkus from A Christmas Story. While he has had a busy shooting schedule since 1983, this is perhaps one of his most recognizable roles since the Christmas classic — next to Freddy Vs. Jason and Resident Evil: Apocalypse, of course. Frakus’ role is insignificant and hazy in April’s Shower, but it is more than welcome to see the brace-face bully turn into such a Hollywood hottie; I’m just saying, time changes people.

Had it not been for Farkus, April’s Shower would fall flat on its face. There is a diamond somewhere in all the rough; it just may take a little effort to find it.