Wigstock - The Movie

Amazon.com

The king, or maybe that should be queen, of all drag shows, New York City's 10th annual Wigstock festival, provides the setting for this lively and frequently funny documentary. Some 30,000 fans showed up, many of them suitably adorned with impossibly huge wigs, and roving cameras did a fine job of capturing the celebratory atmosphere. It goes without saying that those who find men performing as women fascinating will revel in what the camera captured. Several drag performers prepping for their star turns on the Wigstock stage are profiled, and some of them speak about what possesses them to admittedly make spectacles of themselves. There are also quirky interviews with construction workers building the festival's stage, jaded neighbors in the East Village, and even some encounters with bemused New York City cops. The film features very professionally shot performance footage of such characters as RuPaul, Deee-Lite, Crystal Waters, and even a pair of dueling Tallulah Bankhead impersonators performing "Born to Be Wild," but the real star of the production is the hip sense of humor the filmmakers brought to the project. At times the interviews with people attending the shows and passersby in New York who simply shrug it all off come close to upstaging the guys in size 14 heels singing and dancing their hearts out onstage. --Robert J. McNamara

Description

Outrageous, outlandish and totally out of the closet, Wigstock: The Movie is a heavily mascaraed look at New York's most extravagant celebration of drag! "Colorful, flamboyant [and] extremely funny" (Blockbuster Entertainment Guide), this uninhibited look at the annual Wigstock Festival takes you behind the scenesand into the dressing roomsfor an uproarious play-by-play of theself-proclaimed "Super Bowl of drag"! A "glitzy, lively, lovingly made show" (The Hollywood Reporter), Wigstock: The Movie features inspired music, daring performance art and apeek at the stars' endless quests to be fabulouswearing size 14 heels! With RuPaul, Lypsinka, Crystal Waters, The "Lady" Bunny, Deee-Lite, Alexis Arquette, Jackie Beat, John Kelly, Debbie Harry and the Dueling (Tallulah) Bankheads (!), Wigstock: The Movie is a dazzling musical celebrationof life, love and lipstick!

Customer Reviews:

Funny, witty and great music.............2007-07-26

This DVD makes you wish you were at the live Wigstock event back in the day when it was not a commercial event.

The perfomers are funny. The music is great. My favorites being RuPaul and DeeeLite.

Too bad there aren't any extras, but all in all a fun look at cross dressers and trannies who aren't afraid to poke fun at themselves.

Excellent documentary about Drag Queens .......2007-05-12

This movie shows the freedom and the drama behind people who strive to be
lively and enjoy life.

Let's Party.......2007-01-17

"WIGSTOCK"

Let's Party

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

If you are ever down n the dumps or just looking to be entertained, put "Wigstock" in your DVD player and sit back and enjoy. The original Wigstock festival was held in New York in 1994 and is immortalized by his great film. It was a day of joy in the city. What a beautiful way to spend an afternoon--people who are proud of who and what they are having a big party. This is the very essence of what makes America the great nation that she is. What a fun experience this is. "Wigstock says to us that we can all get together and just have fun. For 85 minutes you find yourself transported to another place where everything is fun.
It is hard to describe this movie. It is a documentary of a drag festival but it is more than that. It is a concert of drag queens but it is more than that. It is more than performance art. There are fabulous costumes and hair-dos and people being together and enjoying each other.
Some of the classic drag queens are here: Lady Bunny, RuPaul, Lypsinka and others and everyone possesses a unique talent. But sometimes the audience is even more interesting than the performers. It is a large array of all kinds of people, gay, straight, costumed, undressed, and transgender people--all who have the same idea in mind--to have a good time. There is nothing political here and nothing is sacred.
There are live performances and scenes of the skylines of New York. It is so beautiful to see gay and straight alike come together for the simple purpose of having fun. Mistress Formica opens the show and he is followed by Lypsinka who is entertaining as usual (Remember him in "Another Gay Movie"?). He is accompanied by the Wigstock dancers who desperately needed a little more practice but just had a great time pretending they could dance. Leigh Bowery does a bizarre performance about birth. As the performances take place on the stage, the cameras follow Alexis Arquette as he prepares his outfit for the celebration. Coming to the stage is a veritable show case of drag performers--some good, some not so good. There is also a bittersweet moment when you see the imposing World Trade Center rising in the background. It like many who were in the film is no longer with us. It makes us realize that we won't live forever but when you see the gathering of beautiful people you realize that you can live life and be happy while you do.
"Wigstock" succeeds despite the fact that it is shallow and silly in parts.
If we can celebrate at Wigstock, we can celebrate everyday. It is a look at the happiness and joy we can achieve just by being ourselves and being together. I was reminded of Mardi Gras, New Year's Eve and Halloween all rolled into one big fun time.
The message of "Wigstock" is to demonstrate that a drag festival, or any festival for that matter, is nothing more than a means for lighthearted fun.
The movie closes with the appearance of the organizer of the whole shebang, Lady Bunny. He is an exaggerated parody of everything drag is about and he is funny.
The one thing I did not like is that some of the drag queens provide a feeling of self-importance but I pushed that aside. Surely questions are raised by the festival but they are never answered. The film does not pretend to preach, teach or do anything radical. It simply wants us to enjoy--enjoy the show, enjoy the atmosphere and most of all, enjoy life.

Does this movie even need a review?.......2006-07-11

Wigstock is simply one of those movies every gay man should own. If you haven't heard of it, go watch it. I don't care if you're the butchest gym bunny or the gruffest leather daddy, the messages of freedom, the celebration of homosexuality and the importance to unite our community is one that every gay man should experience. Besides, there are drag queens in this flick! Gaggles of them! And draq queens are the bestest! They have more nut than the butchest of the butch because they don't just wear their sexuality on their sleeve, they flaunt it, they own it and they take the brunt of a lot of negativity only to pick themselves up, fix their hair and do it again.

Absolutely Fabulous.......2005-07-05

I first saw Wigstock in an Art-house cinema in Berlin amidst an audience largely made up of glamorous and extremely vocal German drag queens. And let me tell you, it was one of the most fun experiences in my life. Talk about audience participation? It was a riot!

I've since bought first the video and now the DVD and watch it again and again - whenever I need a pick me up - whenever I need to remind myself that, as The Lady Bunny says: "We can all get it together and have a great time!"

I have only two minor criticisms of this movie. 1. At a running time of approx 85 mins, it is not long enough! And 2. I really don't like Leigh Bowery's performance at all. Otherwise, it's all good. The audience are every bit as fabulous as the performers on stage and backstage.

A couple of my fellow posters have complained about the lipsynching. Why? It's a given in drag culture. And Girlina, Mistress Formika and the like are awesome exponents. Got a complaint? You try lipsynching in those heels, honey!

This film somehow manages to be both a celebration of diversity and community at the same time. I am totally in awe. My thanks to all concerned.

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