The
Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, a film from Australia, directed by Stephen
Elliott.
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The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Australia - 1994
Directed by Stephen Elliott
A review by Damian Cannon.
Copyright © Movie Reviews UK 1997
An outrageous comedy playing on the clash between three confirmed drag-queens and an unsuspecting Outback, the costumes are simply to die for. Plying his act in a Sydney club, Tick/Mitzi (Hugo Weaving) feels drained by the stresses of living in the city. A close friend, transsexual Bernadette (Terence Stamp), has recently lost her lover (to a peroxide accident!), so Mitzi invites her on a trip west. A booking for 2 weeks of shows has been organised in Alice Springs (of all places) by Tick, to which Bernadette perks up and jumps aboard. However the third performer will be Adam/Felicia (Guy Pearce), a talented but personally abrasive friend. Conjuring up a beaten-up bus, quickly named Priscilla, the travellers quickly fill every gap with clothes, shoes and trinkets. In a cloud of dust and fighting like cats, the contents of Priscilla head into the unknown.
Cresting a rise, even these self-proclaimed bitches are struck dumb by the awesome expanse lying before them. Pretty soon (on an Australian scale) they roll into an isolated town for a night off of the bus and a little entertainment. Striding forth in their best costumes, Mitzi and Felicia cut a stunning path for Bernadette, turning heads everywhere. This entrance is nothing compared to their night-time antics though, which sees the three parade into a bar and order a triplet of over-blown cocktails. The men-folk are stunned by this unexpected spectacle, only rousing themselves when a butch local "lady" strides across to make trouble. However, Bernadette's put-down is perfection - there'll be no trouble for them tonight. After all the anticipation, perhaps cracking these desert savages won't be so hard! If only the crude insults sprayed onto Priscilla during the night didn't suggest otherwise.
Unfortunately the uncertain vintage of Priscilla makes itself felt, picking a moment when they've turned onto a dirt-road short-cut. Stranded in the baking glare of the sun, Bernadette decides to locate assistance and trudges off in an uncertain direction, while Adam commences a redecoration of Priscilla with lavender paint. Tick is still a little depressed from his recent confession, that he's actually married and that his wife owns their prospective venue in Alice Springs. Bernadette is sympathetic to the ghosts of his past life, a marked contrast to the vituperative asides emerging from Felicia. All is forgiven when Bernadette returns with their saviours, who take one look at Mitzi in her lime-green outfit and disappear into the sunset. In the end their rescue arrives from an unlikely quarter, proving that this overland journey is turning out to be rather more event-packed than the girls had originally bargained for.
An admirably uncomplicated comedy, ..Priscilla.. takes its characters at face value and releases them to behave in their own way (which is to say, bitching about everything and everyone). The plot is equally straightforward and well-established, adding spin to the usual fish-out-of-water complications by making the protagonists unabashed drag-queens. With these factors, the crowning moments of ..Priscilla.. belong to Mitzi, Bernadette and Felicia. The way in which they manage to get along (despite their upsets), defeat local hostility with a few quips and still put together an outstanding show, miming to ABBA, warms the heart. In particular, Stamp is excellent, treading a fine line between over-acting and sickly sentimentality. However, the way in which potential troubles are headed off with ease is occasionally disappointing, replacing the possibility of a critical examination of homophobia with trivial escape clauses. Interspersed with hilarity, ..Priscilla.. suffers from some terrific musical numbers putting all else into the shade.
Guest Comments
From: "denise"
"brilliant film costumes wonderful great
music fun film"
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Item#:
AUS006-4DVD
Price: $29.95
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