"The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert"

I was happily surprised when I realised that Priscilla came much earlier in the alphabet than originally thought. Everyone knows it as 'Priscilla Queen of the Desert', failing to realise it's actually "The Adventures of Priscilla . . . ". Anyway. . .


On Saturday I was feeling kinda sad. Sometimes life just all piles in on ya, and you can't help but feeling sorry for yourself. Saturday was one of those days. We popped on Priscilla, the next in the queue. I knew it was a happy, bouncy movie for the most part, but I hadn't anticipated it being just the thing I needed to turn my frown upside down.  Straight away the singing made me feel lighter. Next, the drag queens - their 'gayness', their clothes etc are so fun and entertaining.

The story is about Tick (Hugo Weaving) a drag queen that has gotten a gig in a hotel in the middle of the Outback. He convinces his friends Felicia (Guy Pearce) and transsexual friend Bernadette (Terence ?) to join him on the journey from Sydney to Alice Springs, so they can perform. They get their hands on bus for the trip and set off. Felicia is a over-the-top, camp, up-and-coming drag queen who clashes with the older and subtler trans-sexual Bernadette.
They sing their way across the country, causing havoc along the way with their drag queen outfits and "big city" style.
When they arrive in Alice Springs it's discovered that Tick has an estranged wife and an 8 yr old son, who he is going to be taking home again after the shows.

This is the first movie I ever saw Guy Pearce in and have always compared his subsequent performances to this. He's brilliant at playing the super camp drag queen Felicia and Hugo Weaving is also brilliant as Tick. Both actors have long careers in action and thrillers, and yet I know them best from this performance, and almost love them because of it.

While the movie is fairly light for the most part, it does have some heavier undertones. When it was made in 1994 it was one of the first movies to look so openly at gay men and lifes of drag queens. I remember it being one of the first movies I'd ever seen that had these types of characters.

I'd highly recommend it to all. For most of you it'll be a fun and musical movie. If that's not your thing, it's great because it's different from other mainstream movies out these days. And, it's one I remember watching when I was a teenager, so it's sentimental too.

Regardless of it's history for me, on Saturday it was perfect. It lightened me up and brought me out of my funk. For the first time the "Alphabetical Movie Night" project gave me something that I needed better than I would have chosen for myself - light and laughter. Thanks project!