Drag queens bopping their way through the Australian Outback

Rating: Null/10 (25 February 2000)

For my buck, Priscilla Queen of the Desert was just going to be another gay movie. There was a real trend in the mid nineties with films like The Birdcage, Too Wong Foo, Its my Party, and Love! Valor! Compassion! exploding onto the screen as America began to feel more at ease with its gay brothers and sisters. And as we watched these movies, a whole `Gay Comic Genre' was really born. Also we can't forget about the popularity of gay stand up at that same time.
Priscilla did indeed avail itself of this trend, and every gay humor trick in the book. It also managed to slip us some really amazing visual, comic and compassionate moments. The relationship between Mitzi and his son is both intimidating and soulful. As a gay man and a cross dressing performer, he was very unsure as to the receptivity of his son and really what sort of dad he could be.
Mitzi (Hugo Weaving) and his two buddies (Guy Pearce and Terence Stamp) head for the deep outback to perform at a holiday spa doing their drag routines. They buy a bus for the trip (from three Swedes named Lars, Lars and Lars), and they christen it `Priscilla Queen of the Desert'.

The trip to the outback is fraught with delays, mean hearted blokes, and desert creatures (not to mention some very musical Aborigine). They shtick their way to the club, dancing to Abba, and dressing divinely all at the same time. This is a very funny movie and you will not be disappointed.