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Amos Lassen wrote on 02/09/2011:

“A Very Serious Person”
Growing…Up
Amos Lassen
Charles Busch is a familiar name in gay entertainment. He is a playwright, a movie maker, an actor and a wonderful drag persona. Now Wolfe Video is releasing, in November 2o, his new movie, “A Very Serious Person” in which he directs himself for the first time. The movie premiered at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival in 2006 and has received awards at other festivals including one for artistic achievement.
“A Very Serious Person” tells the story of Jan (Charles Busch, himself), an itinerant male nurse from Denmark who takes a job taking care of a terminally ill women, Mrs. A (Polly Bergen—I remember her; I guess I am really old). Mrs. A has been raising her orphaned thirteen year old grandson, Gil. As they spend the summer by the shore, Jan who prides himself on his mental reserve finds himself in a strange position as a mentor to the boy and preparing him to spend the rest of his life with his Floridian cousins upon the death of his grandmother. The boy and the man develop a deep emotional bond—two loners find each other and they are both changed by their friendship. Gil matures and acquires independence and Jan reveals just how vulnerable he really is. As the two men become closer and develop a deep camaraderie, they begin to include others into their circle and this causes Gil to take his first steps on his journey of self-discovery.
Charles Busch gives us a beautiful little movie and I use the word little in the positive sense. Had the movie been bigger it would have not had the tenderness and beauty it has. Watching the man and the boy develop their relationship was a beautiful experience and everything else about the film is wonderful as well.