To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar

As part of the Midsumma Festival, Bunjil Place are proud to partner with the Melbourne Queer Film Festival to bring you a night of fun, joy, colour, live performance and film – all under the stars in the Bunjil Place Plaza!

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar

(Director: Beeban Kidron, USA, 1995, 109 mins, rated PG)

Now that our Priscilla has turned 30, we can turn our eyes towards that other mid-‘90s, cult classic, drag queen road trip comedy, which is also about to enjoy that same anniversary. For Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce and Terence Stamp, substitute Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo; for Alice Springs, think Tinseltown itself. 

Vida Boheme (Swayze) and Noxeema Jackson (Snipes) are elite Manhattan queens bound for a drag pageant in Hollywood in a yellow ‘67 Cadillac convertible. After taking hapless drag newbie Chi-Chi Rodriguez (Leguizamo) under their wings, they find themselves stranded in a small Midwestern town, where an almighty charm offensive will be required to win over the sometimes unwelcoming locals.

Director Beeban Kidron (also known for Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) and, these days, a Baroness, officially) worked with an extraordinary cast – Swayze and Leguizamo were both nominated for Golden Globes – which was boosted by the legendary Stockard Channing and a dazzling array of starry cameos, from Robin Williams and Quentin Crisp to a pre-Drag Race RuPaul and a certain Catwoman of yesteryear.

Rated PG, Parental Guidance recommended. 

Drag Queen Mum
Hey there kids, Mum’s home! She’s larger than life, and always the life of the party, with a voice as big as her hair. She’s sung the roof off the NGV, the Malthouse, your local gay bar, and sold out shows at the Melbourne Fringe Festival with her one woman cabaret “Mum’s Lounge”. She can’t wait to meet you and welcome you into her fabulous family! Now, go get mummy a glass of wine.
@Hello_ItsMum