The Adventure Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (1994)
comedy
directed by : Stephan Elliott
featuring : Terence Stamp - Hugo Weaving - Guy Pearce - Bill Hunter - Sarah Chadwick
running time : 1 hour 42 minutes
The usually menacing British actor Terence Stamp does a complete turnaround as Bernadette, an aging drag queen who tours the backwaters of Australia with his stage partners, Mitzi (Hugo Weaving) and Adam/Felicia (Guy Pearce). Their act, well-known in Sydney, involves wearing lots of makeup and gowns and lip-synching to records, but Bernadette is getting a bit tired of it all and is also haunted by the bizarre death of an old loved one. Nevertheless, when he gets an offer to perform in the remote town of Alice Springs, the threesome ventures into the outback with Priscilla, a lavender-colored school bus that doubles as dressing room and home on the road. Along the way, the act encounters any number of strange characters, as well as incidents of homophobia, while Bernadette becomes increasingly concerned about the path his life has taken.

A campy ode to alternative lifestyles and the music of ABBA, The Adventure Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert is nonetheless rarely played for straight laughs, respecting the dignity of its subjects too much to mock them. Instead, it's a rich study of how smiles and wit can conceal, or fail to conceal, private pain. Like the American movie it obviously inspired, To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), Priscilla dresses up in drag a bunch of actors who are more familiar to audiences in macho contexts: British heavy Stamp and Aussies Pearce and Weaving. The trio has a rollicking good time across the outback, in spite of the vitriol they must often deflect, giving a sadly realistic glimpse of the defensive shield those at society's fringes must assimilate as a given part of their daily lives. Stamp in particular stands out, eloquently weathered for what seems to be his last hurrah. Director Stephan Elliott astutely captures the strange clashing of the big city and the back water. Beyond being a fond favorite among gay audiences, the film's sensitive character portrayal has earned it a wider appreciation that exceeds cult status.