THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT
A film review by Serdar Yegulalp
Copyright 1997 Serdar Yegulalp
CAPSULE: Far better than the unfunny TO WONG FOO..., PRISCILLA combines a Damon Runyan-ized version of the drag life with some really heartfelt moments.
"The Sixty-Four Thousand Dollar Question," drawls transsexual Bernadette (Terence Stamp), in response to the simple query: "Why? Why do you do it?" What, indeed, would possess anyone to dress up in outlandish costumes and lip-synch to Abba and CeCe Peniston? PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT, doesn't really have an Answer, but it has an aggregate of little bits of understanding that sorta kinda add up to an entertaining story.
Bernadette and her two cohorts (Hugo Weaving and Guy Pierce) have a drag stage show in Sydney. Hugo's character's wife runs a casino in Alice Springs, and they're desperate for cash -- they need some kind of attraction. With the kind of headstrong fortitude that's rarely seen anywhere except in the movies, they throw themselves into a customized bus and set out through the desert.
The movie then turns into a kind of outback-meets-drag version of EASY RIDER, but with a lot more predictability. The first time they stop off in town, they get off the bus wearing the loudest outfits they can muster, and try to order a drink, and get into a drinking contest with a butch barmaid. Even odder is a stopover with a mechanic and her deranged mail-order bride, although where that scene ends, the movie takes some interesting new detours. Unfortunately, a good deal of what comes in between is filler -- the breakdown in the desert, the warm reception by a gang of aborigines, etc.
The mechanic, Bob (Bill Hunter) is one of the more sympathetic people in the movie, and he winds up sticking around and putting the antics of the others into context. Not only that, but he starts serving as a real foil for Bernadetter, an intelligent person who is obviously getting fed up with the limited substance of her life. Also interesting is Hugo's character -- his wife and child are far more comfortable with the idea of his way of life than he is, and it takes him a long time to get used to that.
PRISCILLA is loopy and funny in places, but the real substance of the movie lies in Terence Stamp's character -- a credible person trapped in some very oddball circumstances. And once that hits home, a lot of the rest of the movie seems a little superfluous. PRISCILLA is not a bad movie, but not an exceptionally good one, either. I suspect the definitive movie about drag really has yet to come along.
Two and a half out of four sequined slippers.
syegul@ix.netcom.com EFNet IRC: GinRei http://www.io.com/~syegul another worldly device...
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