Reviewed by Guy Clapperton
Stars Carmen & Brooke, André Christian, Dorian Corey, Paris Duprée, David The Father Xtravaganza
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £15.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 73 minutes | Directed by Jennie Livingston
This is a little gem. It’s Jennie Livingston’s documentary on New York’s drag balls in the 1980s which, it says on the blurb, inspired Madonna’s Vogue video. It’s not an area in which I was particularly interested and when it came thudding onto my mat one morning I thought, ‘look at it for Screenjabber’ but approached the task without much enthusiasm.
How wrong can you be? It’s important to remember the time in which this was made. AIDS was in its first flush, homosexuality had been legal in the UK for only 13 years – I was expecting a little more sensationalism. I thought, things have changed since then, this will be dated.
I suppose the fashions and maybe some of the attitudes – one of the men saying his dad had told him he’d face problems not only being gay but being black and gay, which I hope isn’t as prevalent now – have changed somewhat. But this is a straightforward piece of storytelling with no highlighting for dramatic effect. When it’s flamboyant it’s because the dresses are flamboyant; when people are asked about the balls they explain in matter-of-fact terms what it means to them. If the film has any message then it’s that these are people – they’re not to be pigeonholed into the norm, but they’re just people, with hopes, fears and aspirations like anyone else. Maybe that’s the bit that’s dated – it goes without saying now; when Boy George was still a shocking sight it seemed a bit more of a revelation.
I have to admit, as a run-of-the-mill straight bloke in the UK I knew nothing about this scene outside watching La Cage Aux Folles before watching this documentary; I admit I’m still unlikely to visit, but the makers have presented me with a non-sensationalist look at a culture completely outside my own. It’s quite affirming viewing.
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