Guest Author - Lauren Evans
Director: Stephan Elliott
Stars: Hugo Weaving, Terence Stamp, Guy Pearce, Bill Hunter
MPAA: R
BBFC: 15
My rating: 9/10
If you liked this, you’ll like: Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hairspray, Mamma Mia!
‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ follows a troupe of drag queens as they drive across the Australian Outback from Sydney to perform at a hotel in Alice Springs. Packed full of gay anthems and elegantly choreographed dance routines, ‘Priscilla’ uses its distinctive Ozzie sense of humour to challenge a host of misconceptions about transsexuals, transvestites and gay life.
In their bright pink, rickety tour bus named Priscilla, Mitzi del Bra (Hugo Weaving), Bernadette Bassenger (Terence Stamp) and Felicia Jollygoodfellow (Guy Pearce) set off on their travels. As in all the best road movies, when the singing dies down on that long dusty road, the cramped conditions force the characters to learn a lot about each other and themselves, and we get front row seats for all the juicy gossip. When the tour bus breaks down in the desert, the trio are forced to seek assistance from strangers, with somewhat surprising results. The film has a lot to say about the kindness (and unkindness) of strangers, and these moments in the film are some of the funniest, but also the most touching.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of ‘Priscilla’ is the extravagantly costumed musical numbers, and ‘Smallville’ and ‘Superman’ fans will enjoy seeing Terence Stamp (who plays Jor-El and General Zod) dressed up like a giant sunflower almost as much as ‘Lord Of The Rings’ and ‘Matrix’ buffs will love Hugo Weaving (Elrond and Agent Smith) performing hits such as ‘I’ve Never Been to Me’ and ‘Mamma Mia!’, while dressed in glittery floor-length frock and full drag make-up. He’d have trouble kicking Neo’s ass in those heels!
It’s also refreshing to see a film that doesn’t conform to a bunch of preconceived ideas about sexuality and gender, and ‘Priscilla’ busts stereotype after stereotype with humour and style. The film is packed with attitude, and is full of hilarious one-liners and putdowns you’ll want to remember for the next time someone crosses you! All of the main characters are complex and funny and very real, with the possible exception of fellow traveller Bob’s ex-stripper wife, who upstages the girls by putting on her own, rather disturbing, cabaret act.
‘Priscilla’ brings a tear to the eye on more than one occasion, but overall, it’s a triumphant and sparkly celebration of womanhood, manhood and the myriad of places in between.
