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movie review - Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

This is a story about three Australian drag performers who take their shtick on the road to do a performance in the Outback. There's the strident young one, the aging one, and the one trying to hold the whole thing together. It's his wife who needs the performance put on. The Outback is not exactly an enlightened place and things occasionally get bumpy. Will our characters persevere? Can Australia grow up? Brilliantly cast and beautifully shot, it's inventive and original. Go team!

On seeing this again, I felt the ham-fisted politics interfered with what is a rather enjoyable movie. It just crosses that line into lecturing. Not severely, but it's there. That said, having since seen Terrance Stamp in 'The Limey', Hugo Weaving in "The Matrix" and "Lord of the Rings", and Guy Pierce in "Memento" also made the casting all the more amazing.

Recommended.