The Long Weekend

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.