Ping Pong Balls & Lamb with Meringue, Anyone? (The Adventures Of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert (DVD))

Member Name: Nar2

Product:	The Adventures Of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert (DVD)
Date:	17/11/08 (182 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny, outrageous, quaint story line, brilliant music

Disadvantages: Some swear words, some scenes look like an Australian Tourist board promo.

Many years ago when this film was launched in the UK I was lucky enough to see it three times! I went along myself, got taken to it by a friend and then another friend asked me to go along another time. I remember distinctly a trailer shot of a certain Terence Stamp trying to flog his organic potato crisps, but this may have been at the start or end of the film. Whichever it was, I don't think it ever had any relevance to the film but it has remained a memory from going to the cinema to watch it!


(The Adventures of) Priscilla Queen of the Desert takes some beating in terms of a film that has three predominantly heterosexual actors and turns them into the world of camp and drag queens. Originally made around 1994 the film has been released in 55 countries and on this DVD primarily, available in languages such as French, German and of course English. But the fact remains that really there has not been one other film which has been made along the lines of the lives of three essential gay men who leave the boundaries of the city and go off into the unknown wilderness (in this case the outback in Australia) to find solace, or in Mitch, Felicia and Bernadette's case, a trip to Alice Springs to put on a Drag Show. Yes there was "Too Wong Foo," but I'd rather forget that film given that it has an idea similarly copied in terms of three drag queens setting out for a different life to make a difference.


Mitch (Hugo Weaving), Felicia (Guy Pearce) and Bernadette (Terence Stamp) three friends, all of which are involved in the "show" theatre routine try to get away from it all by embarking on what turns out to be a tour along the way of Australia and unbeknownst to Felicia and Bernadette the journey to meet Mitch's extended family; Bernadette is a transsexual and throughout the film, you get to see the way her character develops, from a dominating force to comforting mother whilst still unsure of her own future as a transsexual. Felicia is the baby of the group and not afraid to show it, from outrageous costumes, dresses that clearly don't fit and makeup which has been designed to look ostentatious, you can't get closer to a stage wannabe than Felicia; even drug taking is witnessed with disastrous effects. Mitch is the founding member, the owner of a gay bar called The Imperial Hotel, and decides to take the two men on tour with him to Alice Springs, but craftily covers up the story of a just a tour to climb mountains in drag.


Along the way however there are ups and downs, from one liner bitchy remarks between Felicia and Bernadette, it is remarkable how the two pull together to cement a much needed friendship even though Bernadette is the stronger of the two. Mitch however seems to be at times flirting with Felicia and at times even I was confused with their friendship and closeness but there are many questions to this film than the obvious fact that three unattached gay men get a bus (thanks to Felicia) to the other side of Australia and of course it is a bumpy ride no thanks to the bus that keeps breaking down. There is more to this film than titters and crassness!


There is however an abundance of music which happily and gaily ticks the film along, from 1930's hits to 1970's songs such as "Billy Don't Be A Hero," and "I Love The Nightlife," amongst ABBA songs courtesy of the ever loving dance queen, Felicia. Then there's quite an arrangement of an Aboriginal inspired "I Will Survive," too which rounds up the camp classics and may have you whopping on your sofa. However it is not long that the songs in the film begin to lose their edge if only present for the dance routines and the stage numbers, but for the feeling of why this film was created in the first instance that takes over.


Stephan Elliot, the writer-director actually plays a character in the film, unbeknown to the credit list on the film itself whilst the second director, Al Clark plays a priest who is briefly shown to the viewer at the beginning of the film; certainly if you ignore the bonus section of this DVD you would be none the wiser. Other bonus sections include an alternative scene taken from the film that never made it, a section called "The Birth of a Queen," and other behind the scenes section that make up the special edition aspect of this DVD. The film was largely inspired by Elliot who has witnessed the British drag queens sync-liping to female artists such as Barbara Streisand and Shirley Bassey but as the interview with him is revealed, in the Extras section of the DVD, it was primarily the sight of a drunk drag queen walking down a road within the Mardi Gras festival which lit the desire to write a story of three drag queens and their tour through Australia.


Thus you don't just get dance routines and bitchy remarks. There are scenes of homophobia at their worst, much of which one could say is not evident today but they could still be in the UK presently in smaller, rural areas. There are scenes of touching moments, where Bernadette becomes motherly, scenes of regret and scenes of happiness where, once the drama is over, the dust on the Outback has settled and everything is rosy once again. Internationally there are moments where gay men and women can feel connection, let alone drag queens and kings or transvestites.


One of the thoughts which has always crossed my mind with this film however is the thought that gay men in general never leave a city unless they are pushed to, and the underlying message is that being gay is no longer a lifestyle dictated by the majority; this is evident from the very makings of the storyline, where the desire to escape the city becomes the most important excuse of running away from real life and pressures.


One downside is the fact that there is an abundance of swearing in the film and if you are gentle or feel too swayed by swearing then Priscilla, isn't the film for you to view never mind witness.


Another downside to the film which I personally don't like is the acres of scenic hills and valleys; just like the parrot in the 1980's Toshiba advert, or the washing machine made by Ariston seen in the adverts, the sight of acres of land just goes on, on, and on (the very title of my expression also made it as an Abba B-side song), made more obvious by the fact that the three men get lost in the Outback. My old VHS video (if it could talk) could stand to the testament of every time it featured a part of the Outback, it would be fast forwarded to the next scene where very little of the Outback is featured. Half of the time there is this need to see the next part of the film because in the middle you just get to see three men bitching in a bus on their way to the promised land surrounded by copious landscapes, dust, dramas, more dust, more road and all the while a weird sponsored-by-Philips running woman who seems to act as a city beacon light shining the way as she runs in tandem with the bus if not the journey. As tedious as it may seem I love watching the relationships between the three men and would have preferred more of it than watching something which the Australian Tourist Board could have leaked to Elliot as an early promo to the country itself. Yet the journey may well have glitter sparkled on incidents and occurrences as the three men stitch back their balls to become ladies, and for all that the film has some very funny moments, the sight of hills and landscapes may become too much for those that just want to see Guy Pearce in a dress!


But, despite it all, the quality of acting is excellent as is the quality of thought behind the film; never before has Hugo Weaving been able to smile so much in a film whilst the acting talents of the sullen Terence Stamp is second to none; indeed one is left wondering if any three of these actors in real life have ever considered Drag as a second job; the quality to detail simply hasn't been missed out, from the usual make up to dresses, sequences and a mini plot to sell makeup and facial creams sitting on a side line by Mitch, there's always something camp and glorious going on. Other famous faces however are far and in between; Bill Hunter plays the mechanic Bill, whose Asian wife eventually runs off leaving Bill to attend an empty home and eventually follow on the Drag queens who breed like bunnies to play the rare gentleman following Bernadette's heart. Indeed if it wasn't for the fame of Australian soaps like Neighbours, Sons and Daughters and The Sullivans, Bill Hunter could end up to be just a nobody. That however doesn't make the film appealing; the general mix of some good songs, good acting, one liners designed to give you titters and plenty of crass will undoubtedly curl your hair all by itself. Now there are not many films that can do that in 1 hour and nearly 40 minutes, and all the while you can't but help to fall in love with the songs and the stories that unfold around them. Over the two versions available, there really isn't much of a difference between the normal DVD and the Special Edition that have the bonuses - either way you'll allow yourself to feel the campness. Thanks for reading. ©Nar2 2008


The Adventures Of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert
Classification: 15
Online prices: £2-50 to £14-99, most high streets: £9-99 to £13-99
Cat number: B000803PX6
Region 2, launched by MGM Entertainment/Channel 4.

Summary: One of the best films about drag queens, dramas full of titters and crass!