Review of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) by David L — 19 Apr 2015

Serving as one of the most critically acclaimed Australian films of all time, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was a film I could not turn a blind eye to.

The thing which I really love about The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is the fact that the film does not put excessive emphasis on the nature of the characters much of the time. Although two of them are drag queens and one is transgender, the film does not obsess over the gender identities of the characters. It touches upon them at times for the sake of drama and there is plenty of humour stemming from the flamboyant nature of the characters, but it is actually just one of many themes in the story. In actual fact, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert examines the characters merely as human beings with feelings, because in reality thatâ(TM)s what they are and that is what transphobic and homophobic people have a tendency to forget. The fact that The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert does not get caught up as a melodramatic tale of gender identity and sexuality but rather spends its time having fun with the concept of its characters and being actually touching at the same time is very impressive. The film takes a dramatic turn in the second half which is my only real issue with it as I was having so much fun with the comedy in the first half of the film that I didnâ(TM)t want it to end. By the point of the second half of the narrative, the comedy had died down so that it had a more effective balance with the drama. For the sake of the story I can see the value in this, but at the same time I was enjoying the laughter too much to embrace the drama on the same level. But that isnâ(TM)t to say that The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was not funny enough because it most certainly was, and this is largely thanks to a powerful screenplay. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert maintains a script which is full of strong characters and clever dialogue which effectively presents plenty of comedy and drama to the film before Stephan Elliot takes it in a stylish direction. One of the most notable things about The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is its sense of style which is very important considering that a film about drag queens better have the best damned costumes in town. Considering the versatile and glamourous nature of the colourful costumes in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, it is no surprise that they took home the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a very colourful film with its costume and the beautiful Australian scenery, and it is all captured with cinematography which follows a rather Western style that captures the large scale of the outback with all its natural beauty.

But like I said, the best thing about The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is the humour. And the funniest thing about The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is the fact that the cast members are all in such against-type roles and achieve it with performances which can only be described as being revolutionarily hilarious.

Terrence Stamp brings gritty elements of his natural persona into the role of Bernadette Bassinger for The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and it proves to be one of his most notable roles to date. Maintaining his hard edge and consistent sense of tension, Terrence Stamp manages to combine his most common characteristics with a role which is so unconventional which successfully achieves hilarity. Terrence Stamp has a track record for playing many villainous roles, and so seeing him take on the role of an aging transgender drag queen is hilarious on the surface even before you get into his performance. When you see the 56 year old actor up on stage and decked out in drag as he mouths the words to the gayest songs in the book, the true extent of Terrence Stampâ(TM)s charm is hard to ignore. Terrence Stamp doesnâ(TM)t have the same over the top energy as Hugo Weaving or Guy Pearce, but the presence of his transgender English charm in an Australian comedy film is a viable asset to the success of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Terrence Stamp does a really wonderful job with his role and shares a fine chemistry with Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce.

Hugo Weaving really makes a memorable impact in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The most notable roles I have seen Hugo Weaving in are his Hollywood villain roles in Captain America: The First Avenger and The Matrix Trilogy, and so seeing him in a comically oriented performance which demands he be as queer as Christmas in Bloomingdaleâ(TM)s is just wonderful. He embodies the role with such perfect over the top charisma without it being at the expense of his characterâ(TM)s heart, meaning that he easily finds an ideal balance between comedy and drama for the role. Hugo Weaving is a true delight in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert with his charm being too likable to pass up.

But the standout actor is surely Guy Pearce. It actually took me quite a bit of time to realise that it was actually Guy Pearce in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert because he strips away all his iconic sophisticated charm and hard edged persona so that he can take on an all new role. Quite frankly, I have never seen Guy Pearce deliver a better performance than in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. If nothing else, Guy Pearce proves that he is a born comedian in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert because he aims for the most flamboyant angle he can and never fails to amuse audiences. Guy Pearce is really the ultimate queen in this film and just beautiful to see on screen. No matter how powerful he was in Memento, no matter how edgy he was in The Rover, Guy Pearce has not ever done a greater job than in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert where he pushes the boundaries on gay stereotypes to the perfect extent.

So The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is not as funny in the second half as the manic energy of the first act sets it up to be, but with such delightful colour and comedic charm combined with really touching drama, the lovable gay charm of Stephan Elliotâ(TM)s film is undeniable.