The Long Weekend (O' Despair)

The Long Weekend (O' Despair) (stylized onscreen in lowercase) is a 1989 American low-budget drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Gregg Araki, and starring Brett Vail. The film follows three couples, one gay, one lesbian and one heterosexual, spending a weekend together.

Cast

 * Bretton Vail as Michael
 * Maureen Dondanville as Rachel
 * Andrea Beane as Leah
 * Nicole Dillenberg as Sara
 * Marcus D'Amico as Greg
 * Lance Woods as Alex

Production
Araki shot The Long Weekend in black and white on a budget of $5,000.

Reception
The New York Times reviewer Vincent Canby congratulated Araki for making an attractive-appearing film on a minuscule budget but found the film hard to watch. Faulting the film's "extremely self-conscious, neo-sitcom dialogue", Canby felt that Araki's ingenuity as a filmmaker was not matched by his talent.

The Long Weekend (O' Despair) won the 1989 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Independent-Experimental Award.