The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: Difference between revisions

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
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* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: Bernadette is quite obviously based on transsexual former Les Girls performer Carlotta.
* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: Bernadette is quite obviously based on transsexual former Les Girls performer Carlotta.
* [[Pimped-Out Dress]]: So. Many. Dresses.
* [[Pimped-Out Dress]]: So. Many. Dresses.
* [[Plot Driven Breakdown]]
* [[Plot-Driven Breakdown]]
* [[Popcultural Osmosis]]: For a film about three drag queens on a road trip through the Australian outback, this is a surprisingly well-known movie.
* [[Popcultural Osmosis]]: For a film about three drag queens on a road trip through the Australian outback, this is a surprisingly well-known movie.
* [[Power Trio]]
* [[Power Trio]]
* [[Double Standard Rape Male On Male]]: Brutally subverted. {{spoiler|Just the suggestion of Felicia being raped by a homophobic man is horrifying. Luckily, Bernadette saves him with the [[Groin Attack]].}}
* [[Double Standard Rape (Male On Male)]]: Brutally subverted. {{spoiler|Just the suggestion of Felicia being raped by a homophobic man is horrifying. Luckily, Bernadette saves him with the [[Groin Attack]].}}
** But played straight in a flashback, where Adam stops his uncle from molesting him by pulling out the drain, [[Played for Laughs]].
** But played straight in a flashback, where Adam stops his uncle from molesting him by pulling out the drain, [[Played for Laughs]].
*** The build-up isn't played for laughs at all -- it's incredibly disturbing. The ''funny'' part is how Adam thwarts his uncle.
*** The build-up isn't played for laughs at all -- it's incredibly disturbing. The ''funny'' part is how Adam thwarts his uncle.
* [[Scenery Porn]]: is full of it during the three protagonists' trip towards Alice Springs. Combines this and [[Costume Porn]] during the climb to Kings Canyon.
* [[Scenery Porn]]: is full of it during the three protagonists' trip towards Alice Springs. Combines this and [[Costume Porn]] during the climb to Kings Canyon.
* [[Shout Out]]: Hugo's prancing in a green dress as rescue arrives is said to be one to [[The Sound of Music]] on the director's commentary.
* [[Shout-Out]]: Hugo's prancing in a green dress as rescue arrives is said to be one to [[The Sound of Music]] on the director's commentary.
* [[Stage Names]]: "Mitzi Del Bra" and "Felicia Jollygoodfellow", obviously.
* [[Stage Names]]: "Mitzi Del Bra" and "Felicia Jollygoodfellow", obviously.
* [[Straight Gay]]: Tick falls somewhere between this and [[Camp Gay]]. Bernadette plays it strait, acting like an old woman (only qualifying for this trope on the grounds she used to live as a man).
* [[Straight Gay]]: Tick falls somewhere between this and [[Camp Gay]]. Bernadette plays it strait, acting like an old woman (only qualifying for this trope on the grounds she used to live as a man).

Revision as of 01:53, 26 January 2014

Yeah, that about sums it up.
"That's just what this country needs: a cock in a frock on a rock."
—Bernadette

This movie stars Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and Terence Stamp as a spectacularly camp trio of drag performers who travel across Australia in a converted school bus named "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert". Hugo Weaving plays Anthony "Tick" Belrose, a.k.a. Mitzi Del Bra. Guy Pearce plays Adam Whitely, a.k.a. Felicia Jollygoodfellow. Terence Stamp plays Bernadette Bassenger, birth name Ralph.

In the wake of Bernadette's husband's death, Tick agrees to do a drag gig for his estranged wife in Alice Springs, bringing Bernadette and Adam along with him. Along the way they crack stereotypically cutting jokes, reveal secrets about themselves, drink themselves stupid, party with a camp of Aborigines in the desert, meet an Asian woman with interesting talents and pick up her repairman husband Bob for the ride, experience intolerance and danger from violent locals, and, of course, practice their drag show.

Once the group get to Alice Springs, Adam and Bernadette are shocked to find that Tick also has a young son Benji, around whom Tick tries to act like the upstanding masculine dad. Benji turns out to know exactly what his dad does for a living and the fact that he's bi, and the two end up genuinely connecting. Benji comes back to Sydney with Anthony and Adam, while Bernadette stays behind in Alice Springs with Bob.

This movie, with its rather... niche premise, unexpectedly became an international success upon its release in 1994. It earned $11,220,670 in the United States market alone, where it was the 109th most successful film of its year. The film won an Oscar for Best Costume Design. Terence Stamp won Seattle International Film Festival Award for Best Actor, also being nominated for several other acting awards. It was also a critical hit, and remains highly appreciated. Rotten Tomatoes rates it 93% fresh. It's still regarded as a comedy classic -- even if you've never seen it, you've heard about it. Naturally, it's been adapted into a stage show as well.

Tropes used in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert include:


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