THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 13, 1994 TAG: 9410130055
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
THE BOYS ON the bus would rather be thought of as girls as they take their show to the rough miners and frontiersmen of the Australian outback. A little glitter and a bit of feathers will go a long way, but not nearly far enough in this case.
The only really humorous, and remotely original, part of ``The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' is its original premise. The culture clash that is expected to take place when three drag queens abandon metropolitan Sydney, Australia, and take their lip-synching disco show to the boonies is never really developed.
This road picture has its hilarious moments, but they are only moments, with long, slow, draggy (forgive me) sections between. What emerges is a group of caricatures rather than real characters.
The fluffy plot concerns two males and a transsexual who talk a great deal about the sadness of it all between shows. Along the way, they are shunned and misunderstood but also make friends. The message is clearly that it takes all types and that the intolerance of the uninformed is heinous. What is missing is the joie de vivre that could have made this movie fun.
Things are best when the three are lip-synching to '70s disco standards. There are bits of ``Go West'' from The Village People, Gloria Gaynor's anthem ``I Will Survive,'' Alicia Bridges' ``I Love the Night Life'' and Abba's ``Mamma Mia.'' The fact that disco numbers are the highlights suggests just how vapid the rest of the movie is.
Terence Stamp, an Oscar nominee for ``Billy Budd'' and a Cannes Film Festival winner for ``The Collector,'' plays Bernadette, an old gal who has actually had a sex change. Stamp effectively suggests a past star who is willing to take the ride to escape the travails of the city and perhaps find new fans - a kind of Norma Desmond on the run. His performance is everything it could be, given the flimsy material.
This is the only movie in town in which you'll find an imitation of Shelley Winters swimming in ``The Poseidon Adventure.''
Felicia and Mitzi, the other stars, are a bit more confused about their identities. One of them is a father with an understanding wife; in a plot turn that should have netted drama but doesn't, he is left to care for his son. The other, played by Australian matinee idol Guy Pearce is loud and over-the-top, fashion-conscious and focused on his image.
Priscilla is the name of the rundown bus that is their their home as they motor through the desert toward a four-week engagement at a resort near Alice Springs. The three are surprisingly inept in their act, an apparent effort to go for poignancy rather than joyous laughter. The musical numbers are clumsy travesties rather than bits of misunderstood expertise, leaving us wondering how they get bookings in the first place.
An award should be given to Grammercy Pictures' publicity department for the altogether brilliant way they have promoted this picture. They have advertised the film they hoped it would be rather than what is is. Take, for example, the tag line: ``Finally, a comedy that will change the way you think, the way you feel, and most importantly . . . the way you dress.'' It's a tag that will sell tickets, but what you get on screen are three of the ugliest drag queens this side of the next street corner.
Then there is the claim that this is the rebirth of the musical, complete with sing-along books. But the songs are used only sparsely.
Compare this rather demeaning treatment to the loving and respectful way director Tim Burton treats similarly untalented survivors in the current film ``Ed Wood.'' The ``Ed'' characters come across as likable optimists while ``Priscilla's'' are catty and whining malcontents.
The road picture lurches, in fitful starts and stops, from humorous bit to bit and lunges eventually toward sentimentality.
One hopes that a more playful, mischievous and witty film maker will someday take the same basic idea and make a movie of it. This one is an uneven and surprisingly downbeat ride. ILLUSTRATION: GRAMERCY PICTURES
Felicia/Adam (Guy Pearce), left, and Mitzi/Tick (Hugo Weaving) are
drag queens in ``The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the
Desert.''
MOVIE REVIEW
``The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert''
Cast: Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Bill Hunter
Director and Writer: Stephan Elliott
Music: Guy Gross
MPAA rating: R (language, intolerance bordering on violence)
Mal's rating: **1/2
Location: Naro Expanded Cinema in Norfolk
by CNB