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Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Bill Hunter, Sarah Chadwick ... see more see more... , Mark Holmes , Julia Cortez , Ken Radley , Alan Dargin , June Marie Bennett , Rebel Russell , Al Clark , Margaret Pomeranz

The usually menacing British actor Terence Stamp does a complete turnaround as Bernadette, an aging transsexual who tours the backwaters of Australia with her stage partners, Mitzi (Hugo Weaving) and ... read more read more...Adam/Felicia (Guy Pearce). Their act, well-known in Sydney, involves wearing lots of makeup and gowns and lip-synching to records, but Bernadette is getting a bit tired of it all and is also haunted by the bizarre death of an old loved one. Nevertheless, when Mitzi and Felicia get an offer to perform in the remote town of Alice Springs at a casino, Bernadette decides to tag along. The threesome ventures into the outback with Priscilla, a lavender-colored school bus that doubles as dressing room and home on the road. Along the way, the act encounters any number of strange characters, as well as incidents of homophobia, while Bernadette becomes increasingly concerned about the path her life has taken. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

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84% liked it

42,674 ratings

Critics

93% liked it

30 critics

R, 1 hr. 42 min.

Directed by: Stephan Elliott

Release Date: August 10, 1994

Keywords: road, trip, drag

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DVD Release Date: November 24, 1997

Stats: 2,581 reviews

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Guy Pearce in The Adventures of Priscilla; Queen of the Desert Adam/Felicia Terence Stamp Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving Mitzi/Tick Adam/Felicia Adam/Felicia Felicia, Mitzi and Bernadette- Ping Pong Reaction Mitzi/Tick Mitzi/Tick Adam/Felicia Mitzi, Bernardette and Felicia Adam/Felicia Bernardette/Ralph "Just what this country needs..." Bob and Bernardette TERENCE STAMP
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Flixster Reviews (2,581)

  • FiLmCrAzY
    April 11, 2012
    FiLmCrAzY
    I actually thoroughly enjoyed this movie, although i was watching it with my boyfriend at the time and he actually recommended it which may be a bit odd!
    Nevertheless its a thoroughly enjoyable movie thats funny and sweet in every way! A very good movie that must be watched as S... read moretamp, Weaving and Pearce do a superb job at acting!
  • mumby1988
    January 11, 2012
    mumby1988
    The history of cinema is like that of a two-headed beast running simultaneously in opposite directions. One head aims for the gutter and embraces the trashy origins of cinema, pointing to the commercial novelty of the nickelodeon and the use of early photography for pornographic ... read morepurposes. The other head, in a mixture of maturity and self-denial, strives for the stars, seeing cinema as an art form which can stimulate the senses, improve the mind and fundamentally enrich one as a human being.

    Nowhere is this quarrel between art and trash more prominent than in Australian cinema, a quarrel highlighted by the commercial success of Aussie efforts beginning in the 1970s and exploding in the 1990s. Films made Down Under in this period encapsulate every aspect of cinema history, from rough-and-ready exploitation (Mad Max) to fabulist fantasy (Moulin Rouge!), and from the mega-blockbuster (Crocodile Dundee) to the cult classic.

    The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (Priscilla from hereon in) is one of the brasher instalments of the 1990s wave, which began with the likes of Muriel's Wedding and Baz Lurrman's debut, Strictly Ballroom. These films retained the rough-edged charm of Crocodile Dundee and its sequels while setting the record straight about the depiction and characterisation of Australians. While not without its problems, it remains an important and highly entertaining film, as an entry in the Aussie film canon and a classic in its own right.

    For those uninitiated with either gay culture or the drag scene, it would be tempting to reduce Priscilla down to the novelty value of seeing three great actors prancing around in women's clothing. While neither Guy Pearce nor Hugo Weaving were big stars at this point, it does raise an eyebrow to find the future Edward VIII or Agent Smith camping it up so readily in that much mascara. And that's not to mention Terence Stamp, whose reputation as a straight-laced hard man overshadows his high camp General Zod in Superman I and II.

    There are a great many films which would be amply sustained by the charm or novelty of three thesps playing against type, and getting away with saying outrageous things. But to Priscilla's credit, it never plays this novelty for any more than it is worth, and it quickly wears off as we become genuinely intrigued by and interested in the characters. After a while we stop seeing the garish make-up, flamboyant colours and the elaborate, Oscar-winning costumes, and only notice the people underneath.

    Priscilla has long been recognised for its role in the promotion of gay rights and the LGBT agenda. It brings ideas about gay behaviour, culture and identity to a mainstream audience without ramming the themes of respect and tolerance down their throats. Its message is simple but significant: that being gay, transsexual or a drag queen is not only acceptable, it's perfectly normal, or at least should be seen that way.

    The significance lies in the film's departure from the conventional depiction of homosexuals, either as shallow wet blankets with hinged wrists or repressed public schoolboys. It's a cliché to characterise Aussies as easy-going, but in this case such an attitude works to the subject's advantage; all three of the drag queens come across as normal people who just happen to wear woman's clothing to make their way. In American hands, the characters would have been showier and less believable, and the themes would have been clumsily conveyed. If you want proof, look no further than Priscilla's State-side rip-off, To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar.

    Although Priscilla's character execution contains very little that is American, the film does owe a great debt to the tradition of American road movies. The most obvious reference point is Easy Rider, due to the film's low-budget, independent spirit and relationship to the desolate landscape in which the characters spend most of their time. The film also includes a number of references to musicals, including a bitchy put-down of Xanadu, featuring fellow Aussie Olivia Newton-John.

    Priscilla is in possession of a corking script, with most of the best lines going to Stamp. Speaking in his natural British accent (which is never explained), he brings flair and erudition to an otherwise broad and brash environment. In one scene he is confronted by a burly woman in an out-of-town bar, who refuses to serve his friends in full costume. He turns to her and says, quite calmly: "Now listen here you mullet. Why don't you just light your tampon, and blow your box apart? Because it's the only bang you're ever gonna get, sweetheart!"

    While lines like this are immensely memorable, there are also more uncomfortable moments when the darker humour comes out. The best example comes halfway in when Adam (Guy Pearce) recounts a childhood memory involving his paedophile uncle. We see said uncle in the bath, asking Adam to put his hand under the water and "pull very gently" on what he finds. We expect the worst, but our expectations are confounded by Adam pulling out the plug; his uncle writhes in agony as his "ping-pongs" get caught in the drain, and we can to the adult Adam and Tick joining us in laughing our heads off.

    As Roger Ebert observed, Priscilla is not really about drag queens at all. It is about middle-aged men who are all tired of being stuck in the same place, feeling that they have been treated a certain way long enough. Tick and Bernadette (don't call her Ralph) bicker with Adam so much because they see themselves in him - they fear for him growing old and bitter, losing all the joie de vivre which, while often irritating, inspires and sustains the group in bad moments.

    In the manner of old romances, all three characters find solace or contentment in men. Tick and Adam bond with Tick's son, with the former accepting his identity as both a drag queen and a father. He is no longer governed by fear or regret, and is able to be a father knowing that his son won't be damaged by who he is. Bernadette finds in Bob a man on whom she can genuinely depend. They care deeply for each other, not out of physical lust or fleeting fancy, but from a shared appreciation of being a gentleman.

    There are a couple of problems with Priscilla. Conforming as it does to road movie conventions, there are long sections which feel slow and threaten to become repetitive. Once the characters are stranded in the outback things get bogged down, and there are one too many scenes of dance rehearsals or performances which highlight rather than distract from this fact.

    More obvious, and problematic, is the racist depiction of Filipinos. Bob's wife is a former Filipino hooker who speaks in broken English, swears rampantly, and seems addicted to both alcohol and sex. One of the most memorable scenes (for all the wrong reasons) sees her turning up a bar to perform her party piece - shooting table tennis balls out of her love tunnel. She's not in the film for very long, but the five minutes devoted to her character threaten to sour the whole experience.

    The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert remains both a sterling piece of entertainment and an important chapter in the history of Aussie cinema. Stephan Elliott directs competently and intelligently, the above flaws notwithstanding, and the performances are generally excellent. Whatever the merits of the musical it spawned, there can be no substitute for the original, whether as a camp classic, an off-the-wall road movie, or a rough-edged, warm-hearted drama.
  • FrizzDrop
    July 14, 2011
    FrizzDrop
    Priscilla is one of the few films that can make a straight female want to become a drag queen with one viewing. (The other main one would by Rocky Horror) It's vividly colorful, authentically cheerful, heartbreaking, and funny for all those who know or frequently hang out with pe... read moreople of different sexual orientations. The setting is the outback of Australia, and the cast is made up of the most heterosexual of actors: Hugo Weaving (V for Vendetta), Guy Pearce (Memento), and Terence Stamp (Valkyrie). This is in the same vein as the other wildly popular film about principally straight male actors portraying drag queens on a road trip, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. The difference between that and Priscilla, is the involvement in character development, replacing of over the top personifications of gay men as flighty queens with love of sequins and erotic puns with the truth in subject material. Pearce's character takes the brunt of this, but in a believable way, evoking all the priss and bitchiness of a denial ridden queen on the brink of self annihilation. The plot traces the journey while calling on their pasts as an explanation to the ubiquitous audience to whether or not they're allowed to enjoy the frock fun, all the while digging deep for the traumatic events that any person who is different goes through, including taunting, getting beat up, or cussed out. It's a funny flick, and an adventure through a real and metaphorical desert.
  • SirPant
    September 21, 2009
    SirPant
    A camp classic. This is a fantastic road movie, beautifully filmed and brilliantly acted by Pearce, Weaving and Stamp. It's also really funny and quite touching. Recommended!
  • jennifxu
    December 5, 2008
    jennifxu
    It really doesn't take much to make me happy, just three dragalicious babes, a few musical numbers, and a ton of gaudy fun. And I was oddly attracted to Hugo Weaving's waxed eyebrow face, despite all the drag queen stuff. I hope it's not going to become a fetish or something.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    August 10, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    An amazing bus-tour across the Australian desert with decorated drag queens and ABBA tunes to entertain. A very screamingly fun movie. I could've done without the "ABBA-Turd" scene and some of the gutteral language. But what's not to love about the desert performance for the abor... read moreiginals?
  • thmtsang
    August 10, 2007
    thmtsang
    Fuuny moive about men in drag on a roadtrip in Oz.
  • ebs90
    June 4, 2007
    ebs90
    Despite the colorful costumes, the comedy, and the ABBA, this movie is pretty heavy to take in. It exposes several faces of discrimination in the heart of Australia. The performances are top-notch since all three main actors and very good (Terence Stamp as Berenice, doesn't get m... read moreuch better). The panoramics and the costume designs are gorgeous, but the mood is hard on the stomach.
  • garyX
    April 8, 2007
    garyX
    I'm biased about this film as I've always thought that this kind of high camp gayness smacks of desperate attention-seeking, and so it was always going to irritate me. But there are some hilarious put-downs in it!
  • jjnxn
    April 4, 2007
    jjnxn
    wild and different

View All The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Reviews

Critic Reviews

Peter Travers
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

In this roaringly comic and powerfully affecting road movie, Terence Stamp gives one of the year's best performances.

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It's too bad that the requirements of plotting require movies like this to crank up the event count, when actually what works is just the daily minutiae of Bernadette's life. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
January 1, 2000
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Bernadette -- formerly Ralph -- turns out to be an excellent role for Stamp. Full Review

Lucy Mohl
January 1, 2000
Lucy Mohl, Film.com

The year's one clear candidate for future cult status.

Kevin Carr
July 10, 2007
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures

Where else are you going to see General Zod, Agent Smith and the guy from Memento as drag queens stranded in the Australian Outback? Full Review

Emanuel Levy
June 26, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

The best things in this transsexual comedy-melodrama are Lizzy Gardiner and Tim Chappel's colorful costumes, which deservedly won the Oscar, and Terrence Stamp's performance, snubbed by the Academy. Full Review

Randy Shulman
June 17, 2004
Randy Shulman, Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)

Funny, extravangantly silly, and surprisingly poignant.

Ken Hanke
August 14, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Both an unalloyed delight and a surprisingly human, moving film. Full Review

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
June 19, 2003
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies

The casting of the film was a stroke of genius. Full Review

Blake Davis
January 29, 2003
Blake Davis, KFOR Channel 4 News

Refreshing and fun.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Facts

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    • Adam/Felicia: It's not purple... it's lavender!
    • Tick/Mitzi: Yeah it's nice. In a hideous sort of a way.
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The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Trivia

The Adventures of Priscilla, Quee... Trivia

  • Guy Pearce, Hugo Weaving & Terrance Stamp in a trip across the Australian outback?  Answer »
  • Hugo Weaving played a drag queen in what movie?  Answer »
  • name the film in which 3 mentravel across australia in a bus dressing as drag queens   Answer »
  • Which film starring Terance Stamp, Hugo Weaving, and Guy Pierce had the tag line "to drag queens and a transexul get a gig in the middle of the desert"?   Answer »
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