Sordid Lives is a black comedy by Del Shores based upon his play of the same name. The film follows Ty, a young gay man, who has moved from his home state of Texas to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles. After the death of his grandmother in the throes of adultery, Ty is forced to decide whether to go back home for the funeral and to a family he fears will not accept him.

As Ty grapples with his decision, viewers get to know his grieving family back in Texas as they confront the scandal. Viewers also get to periodically check in with Ty’s institutionalized uncle, a drag queen undergoing conversion therapy for his “severe case of homosexuality.” In a touching exploration of family dynamics and grief, Sordid Lives broaches a number of topics that commonly arise in the counseling office. As the family plans for the funeral, they must reckon not only with the death but with trauma, faith, substance abuse, and infidelity.

Sordid Lives is a surprisingly astute coming-of-age film that also manages to be sidesplittingly funny in its tale of coming out and coming home. Practicing counselors may find this film useful to help southern LGBTQIA+ clients from unsupportive families navigate their own coming out process and in supporting clients reconciling discrepancies between their LGBTQIA+ and spiritual identities. Counselor educators would benefit from including this film in courses on family dynamics and in multicultural courses to facilitate discussions on intersectionality and the coming out process for LGBTQIA+ clients.