“We’re all born naked, and the rest is drag,” RuPaul famously said. That latter medium has become a global phenomenon thanks to its powerful self-expression, cheeky genderplay, highly stylized social critique, and emphasis on creativity and community.
As we enter Pride Month, some of the best LGBTQ movies around happen to be focused on the drag experience.
Well before “RuPaul’s Drag Race” brought drag queens into the homes and hearts of TV fans each week, the fabulous, flamboyant art form has been immortalized on the big screen via groundbreaking documentaries, star-studded comedies and acclaimed indie flicks.
From essential drag movies like “Paris is Burning” and “The Birdcage” to more recent genre-bending titles like “Solo,” here are seven great drag movies to watch during Pride Month, all available on some of the best streaming services, including Hulu, Prime Video and Tubi.
‘To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar’
To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) – Official Trailer – YouTube
The 1995 cult classic “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar” sees a trio of against-type turns from lead actors Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo as three New York City drag queens who embark on a road trip to Hollywood to compete in the “Drag Queen of America” pageant and end up stranded in the small (and small-minded) Midwestern town of Snydersville.
Though the fiercely funny film certainly isn’t considered a critics’ darling. It only has a 46% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with commendation for its efforts to “celebrate individuality” but criticism for being “too timid and predictable to achieve its admittedly noble aims.”
“To Wong Foo” did receive wide acclaim for its three stars, with both Swayze (playing the wise Ms. Vida Boheme) and Leguizamo (as the hilariously sassy Chi-Chi Rodriguez) earning Golden Globe nominations for their performances.
Rent or buy “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar” on Prime Video now
‘Solo’
Solo Trailer #1 (2024) – YouTube
Written and directed by Sophie Dupuis (“Family First”), this 2023 Canadian drama stars Théodore Pellerin as Simon, a young emerging drag queen in Montreal who is dealing with dueling personal conflicts.
Firstly, there’s the passionate but complicated romance he shares with Olivier (Félix Maritaud), the newest drag performer at his club, which Simon must juggle while simultaneously navigating a reunion with his opera-singer mother Claire (Anne-Marie Cadieux), whom he has been estranged from for the past 15 years.
“Fully rendering its protagonist’s personal and artistic crises, ‘Solo’ both honors and transcends its subject matter in its widely evocative, deeply affecting character study — while also happening to have an absolutely banging soundtrack,” praised Todd Gilchrist in his review for Variety.
Watch “Solo” on Prime Video now
‘Paris is Burning’
Drag may have sashayed its way into the pop-culture mainstream in the past few decades, but for many filmgoers, their first exposure to the artform was Jennie Livingston’s groundbreaking 1990 documentary “Paris Is Burning,” which pulls viewers into the drag ball culture of ’80s-era New York City and the vibrant, varied personalities (voguers, strutters, trans icons and the like) involved in it.
The pioneering film — which was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” in 2016 — centers on four figures of the underground ball scene: Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey and Venus Xtravaganza.
Together, they helped paint a portrait of not only the fierce fashions and fiery rivalries of New York City drag balls but also, more largely, of queer life in America, including how their worlds were changed by the AIDS epidemic.
Watch “Paris Is Burning” on Max now
‘Victor/Victoria’
In this Blake Edwards-directed remake of the 1930s German film “Viktor und Viktoria”, legendary star Julie Andrews is Victoria Grant, an out-of-work soprano in Depression-era Paris whose employment struggles take a turn when she begins posing as a female impersonator named Victor (get it?), with gay performer Carole “Toddy” Todd (Robert Preston) posing as her manager.
Victoria’s alter ego is a sensation on the city’s cabaret scene, so much so that her performances catch the attention — and amorous feelings — of Chicago gangster King Marchand (James Garner), who rightly doesn’t believe that the drag queen he’s falling for from the stage is actually a man.
Though parts of the 1982 musical comedy feel outdated these decades later, “Victor/Victoria” was a forward-thinking film for its time, challenging gender norms and sexual attitudes with great humor. It was nominated for a whopping seven Oscars, including for Andrews’s lead performance and Edwards’s screenplay, with composers Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse wing for Best Original Song Score.
Rent or buy “Victor/Victoria” on Apple TV now
‘The Birdcage’
Birdcage (1996) Trailer | MGM Studios – YouTube
There are few ’90s movies with as many quotable lines per minute as “The Birdcage” (“Actually, it’s perfect, I just never realized John Wayne walked like that”), the Mike Nichols-directed 1996 remake of the French farce “La Cage aux Folles. ” In the beloved queer comedy, Robin Williams stars as Miami club owner Armand Goldman, whose life partner Albert (Nathan Lane) is the star performer in his club’s drag revue.
The couple’s flamboyant South Beach lifestyle, however, is upended when Armand’s son Val (Dan Futterman) announces he’s going to marry the daughter (Calista Flockhart) of ultra-conservative Republican Senator Kevin Keeley (the late, great Gene Hackman) and his wife Louise (Dianne Wiest).
During a planned dinner between the soon-to-be in-laws, Armand and Albert pretend to be straight in an attempt to hide their romantic relationship. Unsurprisingly, hilarious hijinks ensue.
Watch “The Birdcage” on Hulu now
‘The Queen’
Official The Queen Movie/Video Trailer!!!! Documentary!!!!! DRAG QUEEN!!! – YouTube
Beauty pageants are a storied part of drag culture, a world that the seminal 1968 documentary “The Queen” explores. Directed by Frank Simon and narrated by Flawless Sabrina, the non-fiction flick chronicles the experiences of drag queens participating in the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Contest held at New York City’s Town Hall.
As the contestants rehearse, perform and are scored for their walk, talk, gowns, beauty and more by a judges’ panel that includes Andy Warhol and Larry Rivers, they share discussions on everything from sexual identity to the war draft. But soon that backstage chumminess turns into bitter jealousies, most memorably showcased in a fiery speech delivered by future House of LaBeija founder Crystal LaBeija.
Jerry Portwood of Rolling Stone called the film “extraordinary because it captures so much, doubling as a time capsule of a generation’s innocence and fashion-forward sophistication. You can tell why it functioned as a template for many future gender-nonconforming people looking for some sort of pre-internet guide through the confusing maze of sexuality and gender.”
Watch “The Queen” on Prime Video now
‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Official Trailer #1 – Terence Stamp Movie (1994) HD – YouTube
The titular “Priscilla” isn’t even a person at all, but a pink bus, one that shuttles two drag queens (played by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce) and a transgender woman (Terence Stamp) across the Australian Outback to perform a drag show at a remote desert resort. Along the ABBA-soundtracked journey, the trio encounters several colorful characters, from homophobic gangs to friendly Aboriginal Australians.
Heartwarming and uplifting, “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” was a surprise hit when it debuted in theaters in 1994. In the thirty years since, the Stephan Elliott-directed road-trip comedy has become an essential title of queer cinema.
“While its premise is ripe for comedy — and it certainly delivers its fair share of laughs — ‘Priscilla’ is also a surprisingly tender and thoughtful road movie with some outstanding performances,” reads the critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes, where the movie holds a 94% approval rating.
Watch ‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ on Tubi now
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