I THINK I DO (1997)

Alexis Arquette and Tuc Watkins star in queer writer/director Brian Sloan’s (@hifibrian on Instagram) 1997 romantic comedy I THINK I DO. The film has recently received a 4k restoration from Strand Releasing and is currently available streaming through AppleTV and Amazon.

The film follows former college roommates, and also former best friends, Bob (Alexis Arquette) and Brendan (Christian Maelen) who are reunited at their friend’s wedding. Bob was ‘out’ in college and in love with Brendan, who hadn’t yet realized he was interested in both men and women. Now, five years later, despite Bob being tentatively engaged to soap opera star Scott Sterling (Tuc Watkins), Brendan begins to pursue him romantically.

Who will Bob choose?

Will it be his former BFF, or his current soap-star semi-fiancée?

In a recent interview with the Washington Blade, Sloan stated, “While the film seems like a glossy rom-com, I always intended an underlying message about the gay couple being seen as equals to the straight couple getting married. And the movie is also set in Washington to underline the point.”

Sloan also mentioned that part of the reason the film has been re-released is because of an “increased interest from millennials and Gen Z” in the queer indie classics of the 1990s, and even in-part due to a series of well-received posts here on Queer Cinema Archive about the film (thank you @hifibrian!).

I THINK I DO is a charming film that benefits from the chemistry of its stars – which includes the late trans actor/activist Alexis Arquette in the lead, Tuc Watkins (THE BOYS IN THE BAND/UNCOUPLED) as the soap-star boyfriend, Luna Lauren Velez (INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE), Elizabeth Rodriguez (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK) and Guillermo Diaz (WEEDS/SCANDAL).

I THINK I DO premiered at the San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in 1997, then showed at the Toronto International Film Festival, and went on to receive a theatrical release in 1998. The trailer for the film will be linked in my stories and also on the QCA webpage with a link to the Washington Blade article. Be sure to check out I THINK I DO on AppleTV and Amazon.

I THINK I DO

1997. USA.

Director: Brian Sloan

Screenplay: Brian Sloan

Starring: Alexis Arquette, Christian Maelen, Guillermo Díaz, Luna Lauren Vélez, Tuc Watkins, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Maddie Corman, Marianne Hagan, Jamie Harrold and Marni Nixon