CS Weekly Archive> DVD > 06/15/07

Drag Queens in Character Scenes

by peter clines

Stephan Elliott (also directed)

The underground hit from down under returns with a glittering handbag full of all-new special features. Bernadette (Terrence Stamp), Mitzi (Hugo Weaving), and Felicia (Guy Pearce) are three drag queens performing in Sydney, Australia who get an offer for an extended gig on the far side of the country. Christening their new tour bus Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the trio head off across the Outback for a series of misadventures that involve aborigines, an irate stripper with a unique talent, some angry coal miners, and, much to his friends' surprise, Mitzi's wife. At its heart, Priscilla is a solid road trip film, and the script by writer-director Stephan Elliott (Eye of the Beholder) uses the characters' journey across the desert to parallel the growth each of them goes through as their forced time together helps them learn about themselves and each other, whether it's grief for a dead lover, learning responsibility, or deciding if the drag life is the right one after all. This "extra frills" DVD is loaded with special features, including a very solid commentary by Elliott where he talks about developing individual characters and scenes, and also the trouble of convincing producers and actors the script was worth doing.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (Extra Frills Edition)
MGM Home Entertainment
Rated R; 102 min.
$19.98

Buy it now

Peter Clines has had a lifelong love affair with the movies. He grew up in New England, where he studied English literature and education, and now lives and writes somewhere in Southern California. If anyone knows exactly where, he would appreciate a few hints.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (Extra Frills Edition) courtesy MGM Home Entertainment

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