Gay camp movies
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything boasts a surprising cast of Wesley SnipesPatrick Swayzeand John Leguizamo in a film that answers the age-old question of why is that little boy in drag crying? Camp, like Pride, we have thanks to the trans women of color who put themselves on the line to fight for equality and acceptance. These movies aren’t just the obvious favorites—they’re a wide range of gay camp movies lifelines that channel joy, rage, and catharsis.
Those in the drag industry appreciate that the actors are not just playing drag queens, they are playing real people. Bound (courtesy of Paramount) By now a classic of queer cinema, the Wachowskis’s debut. Here are some of the best campy movies to watch as you celebrate Pride. Streams on Peacock, Hoopla, Vudu, and Kanopy. This shows the pain that the bedazzled punk star is going through, not knowing who her other half will be, but knowing full well who she is.
Let me dim all the houselights and return to my favorite topic--campy films that you absolutely have to experience in order to attain your gay card. Upon their first anniversary though, Sergeant Robinson leaves Hedwig for a man, and the Berlin Wall falls with Easterners freely entering the West. Here are 10 memorable, mostly underseen gems that explore the tensions of queerness and camp on screen.
With a strong ensemble that boasts Clea DuVall, RuPaul, and Mink Stole, the movie plays like a gay fantasia that only gets better with age. Hedwig was written, directed by, and stars John Cameron Mitchellwho co-wrote the original musical alongside Steven Trask. The Dirty Dancing and Blade actors star as two accomplished drag queens, Vida Boheme and Noxeema Jackson, who take an aspiring "drag princess", Chi-Chi Rodriguez, under their wing and the three embark on a cross-country trip to compete in the Drag Queen of America contest.
In the words of Noxeema Jackson herself, this is not a masquerade, this is real life. The film deals with heavy, real-life themes of domestic abuse and bigotry, and tackles them in ways that leave you smiling. From explicitly queer movies and documentaries to campy and cult classics, they're all here. Picture Patrick Swayze in a silk pink pajama set kicking down a door to put an abusive husband in his place, and Wesley Snipes teaching some small-minded hooligans a lesson in manners.
After failing to keep his pinky in, Albert decides to instead attend the family dinner in full drag, taking on the role of a well-to-do middle-aged woman, who gets along surprisingly well with the Senator and his family. Boys At Camp Scout Austin & Scout Jack & Scoutmaster Knox April 16th, Views: Let me dim all the houselights and return to my favorite topic--campy films that you absolutely have to experience in order to attain your gay card.
Some of these are campy because they're trying. For Hedwig, this means that her sacrifice was all for nothing. Some of these are campy because they're trying. Still, she perseveres and moves away from the war-stricken country to the United States with her betrothed to start a new life. Living in a trailer in Kansas, Hedwig turns back to what she loves gay camp movies, music. With a strong ensemble that boasts Clea DuVall, RuPaul, and Mink Stole, the movie plays like a gay fantasia that only gets better with age.
That said, this film has more legs than a bucket of chicken. As they say, Pride was a riotand these campy films are sure to put you into riots of laughter. Streams on Peacock, Hoopla, Vudu, and Kanopy. From explicitly queer movies and documentaries to campy and cult classics, they're all here. The togetherness and support of the small-town community that gets behind these queens, along with Chi-Chi getting her crowning moment as not only a drag queen, but the winner of the Drag Queen of America contest, gives this bold and hilarious film, along with its audience, the victory of heart and joy that they deserve.
Along with the surprising big-name actors in such effeminate roles, the film boasts fantastic cameo appearances by Lady BunnyMiss Coco PeruRuPauland Robin Williamswho was considered for the role of Vida Boheme, along with Robert Downey Jr. Swayze was offered the role after escorting director Beeban Kidron on a walk around the city while in drag to prove that he could pass as a woman.
In the 80s Hedwig was known as Hansel, a young gay man living in East Germany. These movies aren’t just the obvious favorites—they’re a wide range of queer lifelines that channel joy, rage, and catharsis. Unfortunately, the surgery is botched, leaving Hedwig with an angry one-inch mound of flesh in place of her genitals. Robin Williams stars as Armand Goldman, the eccentric owner of a drag club in South Beach, where his partner Albert Nathan Lane is the star attraction, known as Starina.