They may slay the runway of RuPaul’s Drag Race… But can drag queens really deliver a quality movie?
RuPauls
Drag Race is a cultural phenomenon. Bringing the art of drag to mainstream
audiences on mass. With outlandish personalities, many of these queens are way
more than just a ‘man in a dress’. They are: Actors, singer, dancers, and
comedians. However only the select few have clawed out of the club scene.
Cherry pop on the surface looks like yet another low budget campy
cringe-fest. But it is so much more,
hunty.
LGBT cinema
often goes in two directions: Campy-crude or artsy-romance. Neither sub genre
gains much critical acclaim. With titles such as ‘Not Another Gay Movie’, ‘But
I’m a cheerleader’ and ‘G.B.F’ to contend with its no wonder queer comedy is
rarely championed. With stand out feature films few and far between, Priscilla:
Queen of the desert anyone? Its no surprise campy comedies suffer from low
budgets, mediocre press coverage and tepid talent. However times are changing.
Welcome to the stage, the incomparable…Cherry Pop!
From
writing/directing good Judys, Nick Landa and Assaad Yacoub comes Cherry pop, a
truly good gay-old time and a refreshing addition to quality LGBT cinema. Offering a charismatic
cast and neon stained cinematography, Cherry pop offers the simple tale of
“straight queens first night in drag” fabulously.
Now, the plot is simple and crowded but definitely dripping with
charisma. Over-acting is a problem of many a drag queen. But Cherry Pop offers
a collection of campy caricatures and is not afraid to poke fun at the dingy
drag bars queens call home. The cast is clever, witty and almost flawless.
Stand out
performances come from Drag Race alumni: Bob the Drag Queen, Tempest Dujour and
Detox. Bobs character, Kitten, is
essentially Bob… but brilliantly so. He is cool, calm and catty. Bob knows how
to perform with confidence and showcased his natural Cinematic, Uniqueness,
Nerve and Talent expertly. Detox's performance was a pleasant surprise, Known predominantly for her
striking presence, I was unsure of any true acting chops from the dramatic
diva. Her delivery was deliciously quick and shone through a few cliché comedic
choices, proving she is not just a killer look.
Tempest
Dujour completes my top three. Tempests performance as grand diva ZaZa is
amazing. She is every inch a veteran queen and showcased with her opulent
performance. I believed the novella style drama thanks to her terrific timing.
Tempest… Shantay you stay!
The rest of the cast holds their own amongst the bold and beautiful
personalities. Among familiar faces I definitely spy some rising talent on the
horizon. One welcome addition,Latrice Royale makes an enthusiastic return to screens. Can she act,
yes! Was she a necessary character, No! But with Latrice’s portrayal it excites
me to see potentially more chunky yet funky performances from Ms. Royale.
Mayhem Miller exudes professionalism and intelligence, she was a treat to the
eyes and left me wanting more Mayhem… Season 10 please! And amongst the cross-dressers
there’s even a pussycat doll. Carmit Bachar does her best with the odd addition
of a queer-blind quirky momma and gets some definite laughs.
The shady
part... there is one decidedly dim addition to the eccentric cast: the straight
guy, Lars Berge. The Cherry of Cherry Pop never dazzles on screen. His
performance is wooden throughout and his musical crescendo… falls flat. The
cherry being straight didn’t add much depth to the character; neither did the
random appearance of his girlfriend. Berge was sadly resting on pretty and
offered nothing to this potentially intriguing role… Now sashay away.
All homo humour aside, a talented cast is nothing without direction and
dialogue. Cherry Pop has both. The dialogue is conversational camp with
sprinkles of greatness among the many white-girl and abortion jokes. However, with
Yacoubs choreographed campiness in full force this movie never feels dumbed
down. Its almost satirical in its exaggeration of gay life but still has a
relatable, if not warped, sense of reality. Think Wes Anderson does To Wong Foo
realness.
This movie is not perfect but it is a major step into quality
LGBT comedies. Slowly gay cinema is progressively becoming a witty and
surrealist gay art form. Showcasing the wacky and wonderful of LGBT life
without the cheap and trashy we’ve known before. There are dick jokes aplenty
but it’s the presence of these talented queens matched with quirky direction
that makes this cherry POP!
Cherry Pop is available now on Netflix
So don’t fuck it up, get watching!
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