Written by: Dominick at 2:58 am
Filed under: GLBT,Movies
Gay Culture has a series of movies that are considered cult classics. Many of these movies become mainstream hits as well, which is not only excellent for gay culture, but also for tolerance and understanding as a whole. One movie that does this is The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. This Australian gem of a film quickly garnered international attention and the enjoyment rivals that of another queer-friendly cult favorite, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
On June 5, 2007, fans of this amazingly funny movie with a message will be able to add The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Extra Frills Edition DVD to their DVD collection. The re-release of the movie, which was first released in 1994, is bound to make new fans, in an era where life is slightly more tolerant. This film was ahead of its time, and is reminiscent of a better written and slightly earlier version of To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar.
The Titillating Plot
Set on the continent of Australia, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert follows the lives of three, energetic drag queens as they travel from Sydney to the Northwest Territory (Australia’s Outback). Bernadette Bassenger is an aging transsexual who is not quite sure why she came on this trip. Her poise and grace is the butt of many a joke by the younger and more flamboyant Adam/Felicia Jollygoodfellow, who constantly calls Bernadette by her former name, Ralph, just to get a rise out of her. However, it is the increasingly nervous Anthony “Tick” aka Mitzi, who has gathered the girls together to go on this road trip.
Tick owes it to his ex-flame, who it is soon discovered is a woman. Considering the girls all believe Tick is a homosexual this comes as quite a shock! As the girls try to find transportation to take them on a continent wide quest, Adam shows up with a dilapidated bus he convinced his homophobic mother to buy for him “in attempt to get him over this silly phase”. He proudly christens the bus “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”. Priscilla will be taking them through the various cities, towns, and the Outback (a stretch of desert that seems to go on forever) on their quest to get to the hotel where they will be performing their cabaret act.
Along the way, these three very diverse drag queens learn about life, love, experience several different types of prejudice, and break down in the middle of nowhere on their quest to find something more in life (as they run away from their present life in Sydney) while travelling to perform their show. Add to this an amazing soundtrack featuring the songs of Abba, The Village People, and Gloria Gaynor and the eye-catching costumes only a drag queen would be caught wearing, and you have the award winning The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
It is symbolic, that Priscilla, while covered in bright red, hate speech, written by locals in one of the towns they travelled through, is painted bright lavender. As Priscilla gets her makeover, so does Bernadette when she meets the eccentric small town mechanic, Bob, whose one night stand, foreign bride leaves him in the lurch. Bob decides to come along for the ride, to ensure Priscilla makes it to her destination. Meanwhile, Adam must deal with the excessive prejudice he faces, especially since he seems to exude femininity, and Tink must come to terms with the past and deal with the responsibility he left behind eight years ago.
The Fabulous Cast & Crew
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was directed by Australian director Stephan Elliot. Disillusioned Bernadette was played superbly by Terence Stamp. This role was incredibly out of the box for Terence and it shows how excellent his acting skills are as he shines on the screen. You may recognize (or not considering how drastically different he looks as a transsexual, transitioning woman who is taking female hormones) Terence from his role as Supreme Chancellor Valorum from Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Stick in Elektra, and General Zod in Superman II. Similarly, Nigerian born actor, Hugo Weaving will be near unrecognizable as Mitzi/Tick from his upcoming role as Megatron in The Transformers Movie. You may have also seen Weaving as Elrond in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, V in V is for Vendetta and Agent Smith in The Matrix movies.
The trio is rounded out by the amazingly funny Guy Pearce. Pearce personifies the flamboyant drag queen in a way you will not forget. The toned and muscular Pearce seems remarkably dainty at times, making his role that much more believable. You may remember Pearce played Leonard in the thriller Memento and Detective Ed in L.A. Confidential, both characters that are drastically different from the gaily, delightful Adam/Felicia. As the movie runs, we see flashbacks of each of the characters in their childhood or important moments in their life, painting a much fuller picture and identifying certain neurosis’ for what they are in each character. These three men do an excellent job of learning from these montages and incorporating them into their characterizations.
Supporting roles are played by Australian actors Bill Hunter, as the eccentric but friendly mechanic Bob, Sarah Chadwick, as Marion, Tick’s jovial and accepting ex-flame, and Mark Holmes as Benji, the inquisitive yet non-prejudicial young boy. The combination of excellent direction, a great script (by Elliott as well), and this diverse cast are what have made The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert what it is today.
Extra Frills for Happy Fans
The Extra Frills edition of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert contains loads of extras. You will find your DVD chocked full of…frills the original disc does not have. You can turn on the director’s commentary, change languages, watch the original trailer and teaser, deleted scenes, what happened on set, bloopers, featurettes, and check out the awesome photo gallery. In fact, some of these features are nearly as enjoyable as the movie itself.
Even the casing is so befitting, in a bright pinkish plastic reminiscent of the brightness of Priscilla, this DVD will work its way into your heart, as you watch it again and again. You can purchase The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Extra Frills Edition on June 5, 2007, so pick up a copy. You will not want to miss owning this movie.
Note: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is rated R in the US and 13+ in Canada. You can access closed captioning features on this one disc special edition DVD.
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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
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Dominick Evans is in his late 20's. He spends his days working as a full time writer/editor and a part time musician/composer. His passions in life include music, directing films, watching movies, reading books, watching sports, wheelchair football, politics and spending time with his family (fiancée Ashtyn, son Robert, and shih-tzu Oliver). Other interests include being an advocate for the disability and GLBT communities.
