The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

...and I don't say "great" lightly. This isn't merely some tired road comedy in drag, it's a fun, at times surprisingly moving story.

Part of my immense surprise comes because I'd never really understood the appeal of drag shows. While I'm not sure I'm any bigger a fan, I definitely found myself drawn into the little universe created here.

The central characters are real people who manage to play to stereotypes without succumbing to them. I was frankly amazed by Terence Stamp, an actor who has made a career playing dangerous, macho types, and made a surprisingly compelling and believable ageing transsexual. The novelty quickly wore off; it was one of those rare performances that was just totally without affect. Honestly, one of the best performances I've ever seen.

Fun, as I expected, but there's a genuine affection and depth here. A very pleasant surprise.

Two drag queens (Guy Pearce as bitchy Felicia, and Hugo Weaving as Mitzi) and a transsexual (Terence Stamp, marvellous as the widowed Bernadette) make a trip to Alice Springs in a pink bus called Priscilla.

Cue a soundtrack of mostly Abba songs (plus an off-the-cuff 'I Will Survive', and C E Peniston's 'Finally' - a great set-piece) and three towering performances. From the initial hilarious premise we follow the trio through the Australian desert and meet the various inhabitants of places they pass through. It remains fast-paced and touching within the comedy. Wonderful.

When few countries were pushing the boundaries of the LGBTIQ community this beautiful movie tested the waters. It made Australia grow up in an era when economically everyone wanted to go back to a more comfortable time. It came out around the same time as Muriel's Wedding which is equally about a run down family of characters who are better when they come together. This movie is a prime example of Australian cinema.

What unlikely trio to fall in love with, just as unlikely as the landscape. When a movie fits so well without a tag that links it to anything else in its historic film context, it can only be described as a happy accident. Premeditated for sure, but accident nonetheless. Terence Stamp, is an actor with a spectacular career. Varied and surprising. It defies description, but let me try. Peter Ustinov's "Billy Budd" William Wyler's "The Collector" Federico Fellini's "Spirit of the Dead" John Schlesinger's "Far From The Madding Crowd" Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Teorema" Joseph Losey's "Modesty Blaise" Oliver Stone's "Wall Street" Stephen Frear's "The Hit" Richard Donner's "Superman" "Steven Sodebergh's "The Limey" Am I making my point? He is an actor for all seasons, beautiful beyond belief to boot. In "The Adventures of Pricilla Queen of The Desert" he unveils another unexpected side to his considerable talents. A Woman. And what a woman, a Meryl Streep with a past and, thanks to director Stephan Elliot, with a future. Dressed by geniuses. More human than ever. He is flanked by two spectacular Aussies. Hugo Weaving (The Matrix) giving a performance of such tenderness that even my brother in law, a homophobic macho man of the first order,loved him. And Guy Pearce (L A Confidential) He is such a beautiful,sexy, funny girl that made me long for a her/he all to myself. Some other monstrously cloned movies were rushed into production trying to capitalize on the success of Pricilla. They all failed miserably and rightly so. Frank Capra, accepting his AFI Lifetime Achievement Award sent a profound and heartfelt advise to young filmmakers. "Don't follow trends, start new ones" Well done Mr Elliot. Well done.

When I first saw this film in my adolescence I have to admit I wasn't a very big fan. I found it to be depressing and a bit droll. After revisiting it so many years later I have a slightly better opinion of it. Looking at it with different eyes I appreciate aspects of it that I didn't before. If you haven't seen this queer classic it tells the story of a single gay dad who hasn't seen his son in ages and gets contracted by his former wife to do a drag show at a resort in the middle of the desert. The man is surprisingly Hugo Weaving of the Matrix films and he brings along his two friends. An aging transvestite whose just lost her lover played by a solid Terence Stamp and a flirty, young, charasmatic drag queen played by a surprisingly engaging and sexy Guy Pearce of Memento. The film tracks their journey across the desert and all the mishaps that go along with it. In the end I definitely enjoyed it more but it left me wanting a bit more character and story development. That being said it's still a wild, fun stylish ride with a great soundtrack.

Budget: $2M Box Office: $29.7M

7/10