Tag: Hugo Weaving

Comedies

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

LizLockeLeave a comment
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!

Action/Adventure/Heist

V for Vendetta

LizLocke2 Comments
Image credit: V for Vendetta, 2006

Remember, remember, the fifth of November. In 2020, something tells me it’s the third of November we’ll be remembering for a long time to come. Though, hopefully for less violent reasons than the ones in this week’s dystopian political thriller V for Vendetta (Disc/Download). If you’re like me and haven’t watched this film in over a decade, prepare to be shocked at how much of our future it has predicted.

A mysterious virus, political unrest, fascism, mistrust in the news– take your pick of hot-button topics that have morphed from fiction to fact in the past fourteen years. It’s often easy to forget that this movie is within the comic book/superhero genre because it takes so many risks, touching on ideas and themes that are more of a powder keg than anything V could set up under Parliament. And yet the titular character has all the qualities we’ve come to recognize in our archetypal heroes: masked man, impressive fighting skills, intense origin story, complicated relationship with a female, underground lair, etc. He’s a superhero, yet his world is not a mythical Gotham– it’s my world, and yours. If Natalie Portman’s character is meant to represent the everywoman/man in this story, I guess we’re soon about to find out whether our fellow citizens are brave enough to pull that level and say… enough.

Out of all the masked men in all the enviable lairs, V is by far my favorite. He has a home filled with antiques, keeps Cat Power queued on the jukebox, watches classic films, and has fun with language. How many words start with V? Let’s ponder it while drinking this Vesperado cocktail.

Vesperado

2 oz Añejo Tequila

1/2 oz Cocchi Americano

3 dashes Orange Bitters

Blood orange slice (dried)

Stir together tequila, Cocchi Americano, and bitters in a shaker with ice. Chill, then strain into a glass filled with a large ice cube. Garnish with dried blood orange slice (or orange twist).

If this movie feels difficult or uncomfortable to watch right now, know that you’re not alone. I almost didn’t cover it because I mostly watch movies to escape; not to confirm my fears that humans are basically terrible. And yet, I absolutely think V for Vendetta is an important film for our times. It’s a reminder that we can stop this now, before things get out of hand. Before our fellow citizens lose more of their rights (or their lives), before our institutions blow up, and before democracy becomes a forgotten part of history. On the third of November, I think I know the word V would use to inspire our revolution: VOTE.