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The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good Movie but degrading and stereotypical.
Review: I love this movie; however, as I watched it for the second and third I started to feel something disturbed about it.
Guy Pierce's character is very one-dimensional stereotype of gay people. Hugo Weaving's character of the gay father abandoned his son is totally cliche. The only believeable character is Terence Stamp's Bernice the transexual. Bernice's character is very graceful and anti-stereotyping of drag queens and transexuals. Finally, as an Asian American, it's devastating to watch a Filipina mail-order bride spitting ping-pong balls...As if Asian American images need more assaults from the movie industry.
Usually I am not a politically-correct guy. As a matter of fact, I detest bandwagon mentality of political correctness. However, enough is enough, let portrays Asian Americans in other lights than the typical molds of nerdy scientists with broken accents, dragon ladies, and mail-order brides with exotic sexual appetites.
I gave this movie a three stars for its colorfully fun.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Film to please everyone
Review: Excellent movie, a real winner filled with laughter and love. Looking forward to a sequal.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I watched this DVD 3 times the first week...
Review: ...and quite regularly for about a month afterwards. Normally I hate repeatdly watching a movie, so for me, that's saying something. It is funny, and had a general feel-good quality to it. Terence Stamp is absolutly beliveable as Bernadette. I was a bit suprised by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pierce's characters...they were a bit over the top of what I was expecting, but I think I enjoyed the movie that much more because of it. In general, it is a very enjoyable film with a very good plot and enough social commentary that you don't feel guilty watching it 3 times in one week.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Re: Two very different movies
Review: Although "To Wong Foo" was billed as an American version of "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", the two films share only a similar concept: three drag queens take a cross-country road trip. "Priscilla" is more a series of vignettes about the trip taken by Tony/Mitzi (Hugo Weaving), Bernadette/Ralph (Terence Stamp), and Adam/Felicia (Guy Pierce) as they travel across Australia from Sydney to Alice Springs to perform at a hotel owned by Tony's ex-wife. In my opinion, the film makers have deliberately set out de-glamorize the drag queen subculture in "Priscilla". No amount of makeup, for example, can disguise the fact that Bernadette the trans-sexual is most definitely a guy. Likewise, the scary--and I do mean scary--psychedelic costumes the guys wear for their numbers are beyond garish--almost a parody of a parody. What I found most disturbing about the film was not the profanity, sexual innuendo, or homophobia, but the demeaning attitude toward women. Tony's warm-hearted gay ex-wife is the only positive female character we see in the film. The portrayal of Shirley the female redneck is just insulting and Cynthia the stripper gets absolutely no sympathy or understanding. Whether this misognystic attitude is a reflection of the film maker's mindset or a reflection of the place of women in Aussie society, I don't know, but it did spoil the film for me to some degree. If you can get past that, however, the strong performances of three principles and the often hilarious repartee make this a film worth watching.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A must have but unfortunately the US version has some "cuts"
Review: I couldn't wait to purchase this DVD. I have seen Priscilla so many times and adore it. It is witty, smart, very slick, excellent storyline and outstanding acting (I admire the actors for taking a risk at the time..Guy Pearce the ex soapie stud muffin, Hugo Weaving - the serious and acclaimed actor, and what can you say about the versatile legend Terence Stamp!!.)... and the scenery is breathtaking. My only disappointment having seen the movie a few times in Australia is that there is one scene (at least) cut from this US version DVD, that I think was very, very important...the scene of Guy running from the men of the town (after he gatecrashed their guy booze up and hoodwinked them as to his sex). Sure there was an aussie-ism (map of Tassie) used that most Americans would not really get, but I believe the image of the scene was really important to the entire story, and it is a shame the censors or marketers decided to cut this...I am assuming for its sexual content or inference. I would highly recommend this DVD...you will watch it time and time again for the acting, the scenery and the great music...and you will laugh out loud! Bravo Aussie movie industry - this deserved to be an even bigger hit!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: the best since Rocky horror picture show!
Review: I enjoyed this film greatly. The three actors who played in this film were excellent at dressing up and acting as women, at times you felt almost as if they were women. Espicially Hugo Weaving who, recently played agent smith in The Matrix and Elrond in Lord of the Rings. There womenly but prissy behavior is hilarious and if you are one to enjoy movies where there are no sex scenes then you'll love this film. At times you do feel for the charactors and their seperate lives. you will laugh, dance, and love it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A thoroughly enjoyable and shockingly likable film
Review: A film like this sinks or swims with the casting of the leads, and luckily, all three main actors are absolutely superb. I have to confess that I hadn't really liked Hugo Weaving before seeing this film. I disliked his role as "Agent Smith" in THE MATRIX, and barely noticed his "Elrond" in THE LORD OF THE RINGS. But I liked him enormously in this one. Of the three leads, he was probably the best and most enthusiastic drag performer. I had previously seen Guy Pearce in L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, RAVENOUS, and MEMENTO, but I have to say that this is probably his finest performance. I have always been a Terence Stamp fan, and I have to say that, unlike the other two actors, he makes a dreadful looking transsexual. Nonetheless, the quiet self-possession and dignity with which his character conducts herself helps Stamp dominate most of the scenes in which he appears. Interestingly, although he plays a post op transsexual, he continues in his performance to speak in a relatively deep, masculine tone. One of the most enjoyable things about the film is seeing the way that the three performers gradually change in the way they interrelate with the others.

The most brilliant thing about this film is that at no point does it succumb to the slightest tinge of self-parody or irony. The director as well as the three leads all take their characters with the utmost seriousness, so that the film ends up not being a film about drag queens, but about three individual who just happen to be drag queens, a subtle but crucial distinction.

Most of all the film is fun. There are many, many over-the-top moments, and not every one succeeds, but most do. The script is superb, the scenery striking, and the music fun, even if most of the songs are, in one sense, outright wretched.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Lawd Almighty! This is Funny.
Review: From the days of Billy Wilder's "Some Like it Hot," Hollywood has hardly been a stranger to drag. But I doubt that even the legendary Wilder would do a film as delightfully catty as "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert." Terence Stamp (where was his Oscar nomination?), Guy Pearce, and Hugo Weaving are all three transgendered blokes who travel across the desert in Australia via bus to perform at this show. Along the way, these guys trade Ginsu-sharp insults, make numerous ABBA references, and turn heads everywhere they go. Stereotypical? No doubt! Entertaining? You bet! Audiences who know Pearce best in his performances in "Memento" and "LA Confidential" will be surpirsed to witness his compelling performance as Adam (aka Felicia), and Terence Stamp is memorable as the transsexual who is ready to raise hell at anyone who so dares call him by his given name, Ralph. The movie drags in a few places in the final third, but this is overall a solid movie that will no doubt generate laughs.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: History of Drag Hidden Feature
Review: When main menu appears, arrow up and you will see a pink star. Click on it to see a two screen history of drag.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Too funny and colorful!
Review: I think the costumes are just too creative, the music and acting is great, and the storyline is very interesting all the way to the show-stopping end performance. I would have to say my favorite scene was the giant spike pump on top of the bus, while speeding down a desert highway holding a screaming lipsyncing drag queen with colors flying! This is a must see on DVD format for all who favor a fun, alternative, colorful and off the wall lifestyle-whether in or out!


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