The surprise 1994 Australian hit—which introduced Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce to international audiences and by all rights should have propelled writer/director Stephan Elliott to a career that somehow never quite happened—The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert remains both an unalloyed delight and a surprisingly human, moving film. It was, in fact, sold on its camp value. The story, after all, is about two flashy drag queens (Weaving and Pearce) and a transsexual (Terence Stamp in what should have been an Oscar-winning performance) traveling in a broken-down camper bus (dubbed Priscilla) through the Australian outback—a plot that gave it a slightly false reputation as little more than an outrageous road trip comedy. The truth is that it’s a good deal more. It’s a story of friendship, bonding and tolerance—wrapped in the promised comedy. What’s perhaps more surprising is how gentle and good-natured the comedy is. It’s rarely, if ever, mean-spirited, which makes the occasional outbursts of homophobia that greet the trio all the more effective.
The film also proves that it is indeed possible to use ABBA songs—and several disposable disco tunes—to great effect, even to the point of making them relevant and moving. It helps that the characters themselves—with the exception of Pearce’s Adam/Felicia—have no illusions about the songs’ intrinsic merit beyond their catchy appeal. (Indeed, Terence Stamp’s implicitly threatening remark, “I’ve said it before—no more fucking ABBA,” ran through my head several times when I saw Mamma Mia!.) If you’ve never seen Priscilla, it’s high time you rectified that. If you have, it’s certainly worth revisiting this old friend.
The Asheville Film Society will screen The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Tuesday, June 17 , at 8 p.m. in Theater Six at The Carolina Asheville and will be hosted by Xpress movie critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.