Pink Angels

After having just watched Pink Angels, I went online to find some commentary on the movie. Most of what I have read seems to be the same. I think I can offer a slightly different take on this film.

From a cinematic standpoint, the movie makes little to no sense. We are introduced in an opening scene that seems to not be related to anything else, even though there is a point in the movie where you may, like I did, have an "a-ha" moment thinking that the movie has returned to the moment it opened. You couldn't be more wrong. There are clips interspersed throughout to introduce The General as well.

What fascinates me most about this movie is mostly the volumes that are spoken about our society and the writers through the film. On the surface, it's about a group of cross dressing bikers out to attend a gala in L.A. The movie seems to follow their journey while also introducing us to The General in a completely different setting. During their trip they encounter a hitchhiker, overbearing cops, and a gang of straight bikers.

If you watch the movie and observe the characters, a few interesting traits show up. Amongst themselves, the bikers act like absolute queens. When in public, they make a point of putting up a "butch" front to hide their presumed homosexuality. Given when this was made, that made sense. You didn't celebrate being gay, you hid it. I think someone involved in the film relied on a lot of arcane stereotypes when putting this together.

Like a lot of things in this film, even their sexual orientation can be questioned. In a scene in which hookers are brought out to party, they engage in a weird comical sexual romp with some of the girls along with the straight bikers. Some of them do, anyway. Was this intentional, or just a slip by the movie makers?

The combination of cross dressing and homosexuality struck me as particularly interesting because there is not necessarily a correlation between the two. You can enjoy dressing up in women's clothing (Ed Wood) and be perfectly straight.

So if you want to enjoy a nonsensical romp with one of the strangest endings in any movie, this is a great choice. If you have read other reviews, you've already read about the ending. When you watch this movie, there is no way you can see this coming. Random? Possibly. It's hard to tell if the ending was patched together at the last minute or planned. I do think there is a chance, given how the characters are portrayed in the film, that it's also meant as a statement about how they felt about the gay lifestyle, for lack of a better phrase.

5 out of 10 for the story concept itself. Over all Oscar consideration, none. Over all film considerations, this is the sort of film I would call a concept film now, where we look at something and then set about fixing it.

In Reply to Bizarre, OK, well, if what you have said is true, then the ending makes perfect sense. There were a number of moments in the film where we get to see some interesting contrasts in culture in America for the relative time period for which the film is taking place, with the contrast in cultures from Hippies to the Bikers average "square" and the general/military complex. The ending makes a lot of sense in respect to where and when the ending takes place. I think it makes an excellent shock to the viewer. Films not for everyone and compared to similar style films involving drag queens, this was certain low budget, extremely low budget. Looking back in on culture, the shock at the end fits with culture.

The Pink Angels: A cross-dressing, homosexual motorcycle gang hits the road to go "down the coast," to get their star queen (the only black guy in the group) to a ball. Meanwhile, a stationary, conservative nut-job sits in his suburban compound obsessing over the "long-haired freaks" threatening good-old fashioned American values while listening to talk radio. Of course, the boys are harmless. They only appear tough, a look they achieve by butching themselves up with fake facial hair, gravelly voices, and swastikas. The film is mostly a silly, harmless lark that could read as a spoof of the motorcycle road movie if the viewer is generous enough to make the leap. The earnest, patriotic soundtrack is completely ludicrous, and oddly works in the film's favor. What doesn't are the final two minutes of the picture, wherein the narrative wildly shifts gears.

In the genre of cinema verite', I thought that the film was a pure attempt to make a movie and see if it could get distributed...I know that for sure as I am the one that produced the movie. It started out with the best of intentions and the money came and went...the best part was that we actually got it distributed and on the film circuit...The characters were picked from the USC school of film as were a couple of the women, one of which was an actual 'hooker' that just wanted to be in the film. It was a real effort to complete the film since the director was insane and had forgotten to film an ending - which we had to re-shoot after everything was wrapped...quite a story, eh?

regards, Gary Radzat

Cockeyed(ahem)comedy about six leather-and-denim-clad bikers of the gay persuasion riding up the California coast en route to a drag queen convention. They have various misadventures along the way, namely an unfriendly encounter with a not-so-gay biker gang(among them, future "Grizzly Adams" star Dan Haggerty) who awaken the following morning wearing heavy make-up and bows in their hair...the revenge of the fairy leather boys! These juvenile hijinks come to an astringent, unexpected shocker of a conclusion...a completely "out of left field" head-slapper which must be seen to be believed.

All in all, this is a criminally stupid, poorly made Z-grade novelty of very little distinction(though the gay community may value it somewhat as a historical document of sorts)

An endurance test sorely lacking in the zippy witticisms one would expect from a renegade transvestite biker opus. 3.5/10