Cheerfully outrageous yet heartwarmingly tender, the Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was ahead of its time, daring to dive into drag and transexuality, when the rest of the world was still coming around to accepting homosexuality. On the bus which the title is named after, two drag queens and a trans woman have a road trip, that does have some difficult moments, when they drive through intolerant towns, but overall, becomes quite lovely, as the three forge a bond through drag, witty, sarcastic quips and sharing vulnerable moments. While all three leads are portrayed by cis men, and the role of Bob’s Filipino wife feels slightly stereotypical, overall, The Adventures of Priscilla is a grand ol’ time, a joyful film about finding family in a world where tolerance wasn’t a guarantee.
Synopsis
Two drag queens and a transgender woman contract to perform a drag show at a resort in Alice Springs, a town in the remote Australian desert. As they head west from Sydney aboard their lavender bus, Priscilla, the three friends come to the forefront of a comedy of errors, encountering a number of strange characters, as well as incidents of homophobia, whilst widening comfort zones and exploring new horizons.
Storyline
After her loss of her lover, trans woman Bernadette is invited by drag queens Tick and Adam to travel across the desert to take their act on the road, leading to exciting adventures, some hardships, and an unexpected reveal.
TLDR
Oh, I wish for more LGBT films as joyous as this.
What stands out
The only thing that mars the legacy of this film is the way Bob’s Filipino wife was written. While producer Al Clark argued that she was a misfit just like the three leads, Cynthia just didn’t have much screen time to carve out nuance, but it’s all the more disappointing that they decided to use the time to portray her as a scheming, vulgar woman just for backstory for one of the people they meet on the road.