Noémie Schwander invites you to explore a short selection of cult classic ’90s drag films you may have never heard of.
With the end of the 18th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race and the All Stars season 11 cast announcement, every individual across the world (not just drag fans) is seeing their feed submerged by recaps and reruns of iconic moments from seasons past. With this, we can finally put a face to the slogans that big corporations love to misuse come Pride Month. Did you know that ‘all the divalicious queens are gagging for the new [brand] moisturizer’s big slay this summer?’. The art form may have reached new heights of popularity in recent decades thanks to the show and its spinoffs, but that success rests on earlier groundwork, much of it found in a distinctive niche of 90s drag films worth exploring.
To Wong Foo: Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)
While its impossibly long title always makes for an awkward introduction, To Wong Foo: Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, is probably the better known movie of this list. Its action-star-studded cast made quite the waves at its release in 1995. As hard as it is to imagine in today’s incredibly progressive, unproblematic cultural climate, seeing Hollywood heartthrob Patrick Swayze, action star Wesley Snipes, and John Leguizamo, best known at the time as Hollywood’s first on-screen Luigi in Super Mario Bros., in full makeup and fierce outfits caused something of an outrage in ‘95.
However, to these gentlemen’s credit, they stood by the project and the community it represented, delivering one of the most respectful, funny, and overall feel-good queer movies of the decade. The movie takes us along on three drag queens’ journey to a national pageant, where Swayze and Snipes’ characters take newcomer, “little latin boy in drag” Chi-chi (Leguizamo), under their wing as they attempt to make an accomplished performer out of him.
The chemistry between the characters is terribly endearing, and while Snipes plays the sassy eye-rolling no nonsense diva Noxeema to perfection, Swayze is simply ethereal in his delicate yet strong-willed portrayal of Vida. The movie sometimes falters when relaying issues of (trans)identities with precision and distinction, but overall it is an incredible watch that many drag queens recommend to this day (see Trixie Mattel’s review of the movie.)
Priscilla Queen of the Desert (1994)
Ever wondered what could be worse than spending the summer on a cross-country road trip with your old colleagues? What if your mode of transportation was a dirty old bus that kept on breaking down? Still sounds kind of fun? Okay, what if the country you’re crossing is Australia, through its insect-infested-hotter-than-the-sun deserts? Now, I’m getting to you. Okay, okay, and what if the only music you had at your disposal was ABBA’s greatest hits?
Well, this movie takes this surprisingly unappealing scenario and turns it into an amazing, fun, complex portrayal of the drag scene. With people and passion keeping it alive, this film is bundled into a neat and hilarious road trip adventure. There is music, dance, love, tears, trauma, and most importantly friendship and found family. If we could choose only one movie to describe the feeling of queer joy, I reckon this one would be a pretty good contender.
The main character is played by Hugo Weaving, perhaps best known for his roles as Agent Smith in The Matrix and Elrond elf in Lord of the Rings. Although he is celebrated for these more serious roles, once you see him in a cut crease, ostrich feathers and the thickest Australian accent you’ll ever hear, it’s impossible to look at his other works in quite the same way. Like, that is a drag queen sir, I saw him perform Finally by CeCe Peniston at The George just the other day.
The Birdcage (1996)
And now for my absolute favorite movie no one's ever heard of, starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane in this masterpiece of queer comedy. The Birdcage follows a gay couple (a drag queen and a cabaret owner) as they attempt to pass for heterosexual when meeting their son’s fiancée’s conservative parents. The acting is phenomenal and just camp to perfection. The plot is dated in some parts and it is painful at times to watch such blatant homophobia in casual language, but it somehow stays incredibly relevant and tackles timeless topics of self identity, politics, hypocrisy, gayness, and acceptance.
The monologues and more serious moments delivered by both Nathan Lane and Robin Williams are spectacular, and proof that their comedic chops are rooted in ironclad acting and character work. Not to spoil too much, but Robin William’s character's cemetery love declaration was simply too touching. Seeing him embrace a "straight man" character and getting to show range in his limitless comedic talent, beyond the cuckoo improv monster that we all know and love, makes the movie worth watching by itself.
Also, once you’ve seen it, you’ll understand why I’m firmly on the hate train for the son, who is, no exaggeration, the absolute worst. Again I don’t want to spoil the plotlines too much, but if you want to meet and read the three paragraphs that I have on my notes app detailing why this character is not only the true villain of the movie, but that of all movies forever, feel free to contact me !
As a final thought, slowly entering the hotter months of the Irish summer might be reason enough to revisit or discover these 90s classics. These films might just be the key to surviving another wave of runny makeup and rainbow capitalism. At the end of the day, to quote Nina West, who sang it best: “Drag is for everyone.”