Tag: Drag

Comedies

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

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Image Credit: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, 1994

If you’re in need of a desert holiday, you could sweat it out in Palm Springs, or you could do what I did this week and watch The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (Disc/Download) with a bottle of Stoli and your most outrageous outfit. I may not have a flip-flop dress, but the vodka is always in stock.

This Australian ode to friendship and being unapologetically outrageous is basically one big party in the outback. Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce are fantastic as Tick and Felicia, two drag queens on their way to a casino performance, but it’s Terence Stamp as their trans friend Bernadette who really steals the show. Bernadette has all the best lines, and I am very much into her Coastal Grandma aesthetic (which she rocked before such a term even existed). This film would deservedly win the Oscar for Best Costume, and truly, it takes a flamboyant wardrobe to even attempt to steal the spotlight from one of my all-time top cinematic heartthrobs, Guy Pearce. Somehow, the wig made out of bendy purple and turquoise plastic tubes frames his famous cheekbones perfectly.

As these friends are traveling through the desert in a broken-down pink bus, they naturally find themselves in need of a cocktail in the evenings. There’s usually an open bottle of Stolichnaya vodka, so let’s join in this party with a delightfully pink variation on the vodka tonic. While watching The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, I recommend drinking a Stoli & Grapefruit Tonic.

Stoli & Grapefruit Tonic

2 oz Stolichnaya vodka

5 oz Fentimans Pink Grapefruit Tonic Water

Juice from one lime wedge

Grapefruit wedge, twist of lime (garnish)

Fill a highball glass with ice, then add the vodka. Squeeze one lime wedge over the glass, and top with tonic water. Stir gently to combine, and garnish with a grapefruit wedge and twist of lime.

A road movie always makes me want a simple cocktail because when you’re on the go, you can’t always bring a lot of ingredients. Especially when you need to leave room for the giant stiletto set piece and approximately seventy-five different wigs! Let’s raise a toast to these ABBA-loving, wise-cracking, vodka swilling superstars, who for thirty years have been making our lives a little more colorful, and a little more fabulous. Cheers!

Classic Films · Comedies

Victor/Victoria

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Victor Victoria
Image credit: Victor/Victoria, 1982.

From Breakfast at Tiffany’s, to The Party, to the Pink Panther films, I am devoted to the comic genius of Blake Edwards. The man does party scenes like nobody else, giving us a blend of style and cheekiness that all but defines 1960s cinema. Victor/Victoria (Disc/Download) may fit squarely in the 1980s (blame Robert Preston’s hair), but I still put it alongside those other classic ‘60s gems. It’s got flair, whit, and above all, it pushes boundaries.

Starring Edwards’ wife Julie Andrews as a hungry soprano masquerading as a female impersonator in 1930s Paris, this film broke a lot of social barriers. Mary Poppins playing a woman, playing a man, who’s playing a woman is something I never thought I’d see, but this role was unexpectedly perfect for Andrews. She struts about the nightclub stage with confidence, making her audience forget about pedestrian concepts like gender and sexuality. Svengali/Manager Toddy (a role originally intended for Peter Sellers before his sudden death) provides witty banter and one-liners for days, their friendship serving as the true heart of the movie. Sure, we’re meant to root for love interest James Garner, the Chicago mobster who can’t figure out why he’s in love with a man (until realizing “he’s” a “she”), but by the end I don’t even care if James and Julie run off into the Pre-World War II sunset. I just want her to drink champagne in bed with Toddy forever.

Speaking of champagne, these characters drink a lot of it. There’s even one impressive number done by an acrobat balancing on a champagne bottle (CLASSIC Edwards physical comedy). Let’s join these liberal, sophisticated Parisians by drinking a Shady Dame.

Shady Dame

4 oz champagne

½ oz Lillet Blanc

½ oz Cointreau

½ oz Lemon Juice

Lemon Twist

Combine Lillet, Cointreau, and Lemon Juice in a shaker over ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a coupe glass. Top with champagne, and a twist of lemon.

Shady Lady

In a lot of ways, this film is a snapshot of “before” (before WWII, before the Nazi occupation of Paris), and yet, also a preview of “after”. After we learn to give up our arbitrary rules regarding gender and sexuality and just let people be who they are. After we say it’s okay for anybody, male, female, or non-binary, to wear flamenco dresses, drink champagne, and laugh. Cheers!