Three New York drag queens on their way to Hollywood for a beauty pageant get stranded in a small Midwestern town for the entire weekend when their car breaks down. While waiting for parts for thei...
'To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar' is both campy in nature and execution. In a position where I've never watched an overwhelmingly camp film in my life, it was time to change that. As you know, I like to tackle each sub-genre with an open mind, alas I remained sceptical that this might just be too much for me. Turns out, it was highly enjoyable. Three drag queens embark on a road trip from New York to California where they encounter a small rural hamlet that is stuck in an archaic environment. Firstly, credit to my partner for persuading me to watch this. Secondly, if you haven't watched it already, do so now. A 90s road trip more flamboyant than RuPaul himself, it's a story primarily focused on acceptance. The drag lifestyle is one that seemingly felt foreign to many, so to retain the drag style for the three lead characters throughout its entire runtime naturally suited the message. Snipes, Swayze and Leguizamo, three heterosexual actors, literally gave transformative performances to the point where I didn't even recognise them. The costumes, the makeup, the accentuated body movements, they embraced their roles acknowledging that these were risky career decisions. Enjoyable cameos from the likes of Robin Williams and RuPaul also. Beane's screenplay had me laugh on several occasions, most notably for Noxeema Jackson who is unquestionably the sassiest character in the film. It's light, fun and lifted by gay buoyancy. The narrative does mostly consist of smaller underdeveloped sub-plots stringed together, such as an obvious domestic abuse situation, a sheriff who is homophobic, racist and sexist and a romance between two local teenagers. The main plot becomes lost, you forget why they are on this road trip. Unfortunately, due to the timing of its release, it is extremely similar to 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'. However, I'm more than happy for two identical films to inject LGBT culture into mainstream audiences. So I must say 'To Beeban Kidron, Thanks for Directing a Solid Road Trip Film!'. Hold up, who even is Wong Foo? An unsolved mystery it seems...
