It didn't
interest me one iota. Uh uh, not even by a smidgen. I mean, who wants to see
Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo dressed up, made up, talking
like, and moving like women? Not me. I managed to avoid it for 20 years since
it came out in 1995.
So it actually
surprised me when I hit the record button on my DVR the other day when I saw it
on the Ovation Channel schedule, let the movie languish in my viewing queue for
a few days, then on a bored whim, hit the play button.
I have to say
that I felt more than a bit uncomfortable watching the guys transform into
women via makeup, wigs, clothes and attitude, but they grew on me. To be frank
about it, they actually look pretty good after the transformation. Does saying
that make me weird?
So why did
they head off to Los Angeles? Vida Boheme (Swayze) and Noxeema Jackson (Snipes)
tie in the New York Drag Queen of the Year contest and win free round-trip tix
to Hollywood to compete in the Drag Queen of America contest. Chi-Chi Rodriguez
(Leguizamo), who really wanted to win, loses out.
They sell
their airline tickets to John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt (Robin Williams,
who hates when the people always shout), buy an old yellow Cadillac convertible
for $50, and take Chi-Chi along with them.
Along the way,
they meet a horny racist homophobic sheriff (Chris Penn), and a small town
full of conservative hicks who are deeply affected by the trio's, uh,
affectations.
Confession: I
enjoyed the film. Which just goes to show you shouldn't judge a movie by its
general premise. Watch it, then judge. Oh, and Julie Newmar does make a cameo
appearance at just the precise moment, which makes the movie worthwhile.
~ "I
don't think of you as a man. I don't think of you as a woman. I think of you as
an angel." ~ Carol Ann (Stockard Channing)
P.S. For answers to questions you may have about the film's title, read the post below this one.
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