Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters: Aug 28, 2009

Friday, August 28, 2009

Know your lgbt history - To Wong Foo and Priscilla

Not too many people are aware of the fact that the motion picture To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar was actually an Americanized version of the Australian movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Both are road movies.

To Wong Foo (1995) tells the story of three drag queens (Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, and John Leguizamo) who travel on a cross country trip to a competition. After a very ugly encounter with a police officer, their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. As they set up residence in the nearby town, their presence change the humdrum existence of the town's residents.

The Adventures of Priscilla (1994) was slightly different. It's the tale of two drag queens (Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce) and a transgender woman (played excellently by Terrence Stamp, who should have gotten an Oscar nomination) who is traveling across the Australian outback to a gig. As they make their way to the gig, we learn more about their lives and attain a degree of respect for them (Although Guy Pearce's character was extremely annoying. I won't even talk about the "ABBA turd.")

While To Wong Foo was a bit more comedic, both I found both movies to be enjoyable features in their own way. However, if I were to compare the two, I found To Wong Foo a bit shallow. It went for the easy laughs rather than to explore the characters' complexities.

Interesting fact to note - Priscillia is actually an Oscar winner. It won Lizzy Gardiner and Tim Chappel the 1995 Oscar for Best Costume Design.

Gardiner stole the Academy Awards show with her dress made solely of old American Express Gold Cards.

Anyway, enjoy the clips. First, To Wong Foo:

Now here is Priscilla:

Utah governor opposes anti-discrimination protection for gays and other Friday midday news briefs

Utah governor: No special rights for gay people - That's right. You should be fired and denied housing because you are gay (sarcasm alert).

Race-Based Protests Directed At Obama Continue To Rise - Oh no! It's simply not true. It's just a case of "playing the race card." Where in the hell did that phrase come from anyway?

Court orders Oklahoma City teacher reinstated - We win one!

Gay Group Sues Washington Secretary of State - Things get interesting up in Washington.

Understanding the "How" In "How To Take Back America" - Featuring no less than THREE workshops on how to lie on lgbts.

Ask Maggie Gallagher about successful lgbt families

Make no mistake about it. When people like Maggie Gallagher and Tony Perkins pontificate about "the family," when organizations such as the National Organization for Marriage talk about the word "family," they don't want to talk about lgbt families.

You see, that's the one thing that will destroy all of their lies about marriage and the lgbt community - the fact that lgbt families are raising children to be successful and thriving American citizens.

Not once have I ever seen Gallagher, Perkins, or any of that bunch ever questioned about the existence of lgbt families.

Who will be the first to directly ask them?