Two drag-queens and a transsexual contract to perform a drag show at a resort in Alice Springs, a resort town in the remote Australian desert. They head west from Sydney aboard their lavender bus,...
'The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert' is filled with feathers, frocks and "flippin' kangaroos". The worldwide cultural hit that helped introduce LGBT themes to mainstream audiences. Not only did it encompass drag queens, transgenders and homosexuality, but bravely tackled deeply moving subjects including homophobia and cultural segregation. It's easy to class this as a comedy road trip, and on the surface it is, yet surprisingly the humour disguises a powerful drama within. Two drag queens and a transgender woman journey across the Australian outback, meeting various individuals along the way, to perform their drag act in a remote casino resort. The energy that keeps this narrative flourishing is the chemistry of the cast. If the friendships are non-existent then the darker subjects pack no emotional resonance. Fortunately, both the literal characters and the performances were exceptional. These three fully independent sassy "queens" each have their own personality when in the disguise of drag. Felicia becomes extremely flirtatious, this juxtaposes Bernadette's more withdrawn persona which in turn results in Mitzi being viewed as tawdry. It's a testament to the power of drag, being able to portray someone else that opposes their conventional behaviour, and the film captures that both elegantly and comedically. Weaving (consistently underrated), Pearce and Stamp all give outstanding performances. The costumes were illuminatingly vibrant, the utilisation of resplendent colours against the backdrop of the dusty outback made for many memorable moments, particularly when Felicia sings atop of Priscilla (the name of the bus they travel in). Whilst the story addresses homophobia, it would've benefited from more tender moments considering how well developed the characters are. Also, I saw the camera crew in various reflections, just took me out of the film occasionally. Despite these criticisms, Priscilla remains hilariously flamboyant, boasting a stupendous screenplay by Elliott and fantastic central performances, cementing this as the pinnacle of LGBT films.
