Top 5 Drag Films

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Posted on January 8th, 2010 by John Polly in Movies, National Drag History Month, TV
Drag History Month Celebrates the Top 5 Drag Movie Moments Ever! Plus, RuPaul’s Picks!


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The one and only drag film legend, Divine. Heaven, indeed.

I hope you kids are living for Drag History Month. Did you catch Bebe Zahara Benet’s fierce (and globally aware) PSA? Was it better than Varla Jean Merman’s from last year?

All month long we’ll be counting off some of the biggest drag moments that pop culture has ever seen, and to get things started here’s a quick list of the Top 5 Drag Movie Moments Ever. And we also quizzed drag super-legend RuPaul to sound off on her faves, too; check those out at the end of the post.

And speaking of Ru, it goes without saying that Starrbooty (starring Ru and NYC drag legends such as Sweetie, Lahoma Van Zandt, Lady Bunny and an early Candis Cayne) transcends any and all drag top fives…

But anyway, here we go!

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5. Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show

He’s just a sweet transvestite from transexual Transylvania. What more is there to say about Dr. Frank-n-Furter? Tim Curry revolutionized drag, glam rock, musicals, fishnet hose and horror movies all at once by stepping into those heels in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

This ain’t pretty girl drag. It’s almost gender-f*ckery at its finest. And who would have ever believed it would end up playing midnight movie houses, spawning a later Broadway hit, and enticing all manner of Americans into exploring their blood-thirsty drag-tastic sides. All that… And a singing Susan Sarandon!

Watch "Sweet Transvestite!"


Up next…

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4. The Queen

This documentary from 1967 was revolutionary for its time, taking folks behind the scenes of a pre-Stonewall drag pageant in New York City. The synopsis for The Queen begins: “Jack is 24, sometimes he's a drag queen named Sabrina. In 1967, as Sabrina, he's the mistress of ceremonies at a national drag queen contest in New York City.” And if you’ve been out and about in the last decade or so in Manhattan, you’ve encountered the Mother Flawless Sabrina herself—and consider yourself blessed.

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Mother Flawless Sabrina today… Attagirl!

Anyway, The Queen is a great, gritty docu-look at old-school drag fabulousness, featuring drag legends of their day such as Crystal LaBeija, Harlow and International Chrysis. Watch the opening clip of The Queen.

Ready for a frock on a rock?

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3. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

It may be the best road trip movie of all time. And it just happens to involve two drag queens, their trans godmother, a busload of ABBA songs (and some archival ABBA feces), countless sequins and wigs, and ping-pong balls shot out of a sexy lady’s vag.

Yup, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, somehow took drag from being a gaudy late-night taboo to a feel-good global movie sensation. It hit about two years after RuPaul’s “Supermodel” was romancing the airwaves, and the combined effect was magical. It also inspired more drag movies to be made (Paging To Wong Foo…).

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Terence Stamp, Guy Pearce & Hugo Weaving take the stage…

Plus, the musical numbers are divine. “I Will Survive” done by campfire in the outback; “I’ve Never Been to Me” and “Saved the Best for Last” getting poignant onstage treatments; and CeCe Peniston’s “Finally” got served up as the show-stopping number it was always meant to be.

But most of all Priscilla, was the story of 2 gay guys and a tranny just looking for love, acceptance and having some kicks along the way. They were sweet, bitchy, grumpy, lovelorn and caring. Just like us!

Watch the Priscilla trailer…

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Hugo Weaving Terence Stamp | Movie Trailers

Now serving realness…

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2. Paris Is Burning

Paris Is Burning is easily one of the fiercest films ever made. Jennie Livingston’s chronicle of Harlem ball culture in the late 1980s has been controversial (Did she take advantage of her subjects? Were they ever compensated as allegedly promised?), but it also did a dazzling job of introducing the world to voguing, the concept of “houses” and “balls” and most obviously, it introduced a new vernacular of ferocity to the world, gay and otherwise. For the first time, a massive audience got to see courageous, resilient, gay and gorgeous African-American drag queens up close and personal. They served, they read, they threw shade, they walked, they “owned EVERYTHING.”

Watch the first segment of Paris Is Burning.

The Houses of Xtravaganza, of LaBeija, of Ninja… Legends were celebrated and the quotes and heart and humor abounded. And we met gorgeous creatures trying to find a little glamour in harsh and hellacious New York City.

It’s hard to scratch the surface of how monumental this film is. Just buy or rent it and get schooled. “Learn it, and learn it well…”

Pepper LaBeija. Dorian Corey. Octavia St. Laurent. Venus Xtravaganza. And Willi Ninja (see the clip below)… Legends all. May they all rest in peace, glamorously.

Watch Willi Ninja explain the origins of voguing in Paris Is Burning.


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Paris Is Burning's legendary Dorian Corey. Don't look in her closet.

Dorian Corey had one of the most poignant quotes in movies ever in Paris Is Burning, with this bit about dreams of fame and how they end up…
I always had hopes of being a big star. But as you get older, you aim a little lower. Everybody wants to make an impression, some mark upon the world. Then you think, you've made a mark on the world if you just get through it, and a few people remember your name. Then you've left a mark. You don't have to bend the whole world. I think it's better to just enjoy it. Pay your dues, and just enjoy it. If you shoot an arrow and it goes real high, hooray for you.

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God bless Venus Extravaganza. "Touch the skin, Sweetie. Touch the skin. You CAN'T HANDLE IT."


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The gorgeous Octavia St. Laurent.

And finally…

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1. Anything starring Divine

Divine didn’t invent drag, she just brought it screaming and flailing out of the closet and into the light as a subversive, twisted, hilarious revolutionary form of art and expression. Divine personified the fearless, foul-mouthed but good-natured and game-for-anything drag queen that we’ve seen on bar stages and in films now for decades.

Divine was a clown, but also a brave pioneer pushing boundaries. John Waters realized this, and he put his best friend front-and-center of his movies (which were always a manic critique and satire of corny American values), turning Divine into a screen icon who could personify all the ribald and raucous about queer America.

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Pink Flamingos. Female Trouble. Polyester. Lust in the Dust. Hairspray. In all of these Divine (nee Harris Glen Milstead) was our Bette Davis, our Lana Turner, our Joan Crawford, our Sofia Lorne and Rosalind Russell and Mary Tyler Moore, all rolled up in one.

And she ate dog poop on-camera, in real time. If that doesn’t shoot you to the top of a list for anything, then I don’t know what does.

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Grace Jones and other fans pay proper homage to Divine…

Now… Watch the trailers for Divine's three biggest films: Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble and Polyester. Long live Divine!!!!

And now…

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RuPaul (seen here in Starrbooty) has gotta few more film picks you need to remember…

RuPaul loved all of these Top 5 picks. But get a look at a few of her own favorites…

Some Like It Hot
Tootsie
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar
the original La Cage aux Folles
Outrageous w/Craig Russell
Johnny Depp in Before Night Falls
Victor/Victoria
and Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Start watching & give drag props! Happy Drag History Month!