Both of these films are obviously very similar in story - three drag queens do a cross country drive and end up in the back of beyond, but my questions are these:
Which film did you enjoy the most and why?
Which characters do you think were the equivalents of each other - obviously John Leguizamo and Guy Pearce's characters were similar (young, exuberant, extra camp, OTT) but what about the other four?
Which actors do you think did the best jobs?
To Wong Foo is a decent watch, but I think Priscilla has the better script -- the novelty of seeing Patrick Swayze in drag with Wesley Snipes wore off pretty quickly, and the schmaltzy ending on To Wong Foo always bothered me. Priscilla errs into the realms of ridiculous at times but it has its platforms firmly planted on the ground as far as the characters are concerned, to me the characters in To Wong Foo just aren't as 3 dimensional.
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Totally like Wong Foo better than Priscilla. Priscilla had too much of a gaudy Australian feel to it (being Australian it kinda embarrassed me....especially cos I'm from Alice Springs and yeah....yuck), and Wong Foo is just incredibly funny and entertaining, I love it.
shareI notice that you people who like To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar better than The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert all seem to be straight. Well, I'm gay and I believe that Priscilla does a better job of understanding the gay community, as well as the dark side of gay humor.
Oh, and to what exactly does your "yuck" comment refer?
Ooooh, that's an interesting comment. I would think Priscilla does a better job of understanding the gay community, too. I don't like Wong Foo strictly for the way it presents gay people or whatever, I just like the humour of seeing such traditionally buff men as Patrick Swayze dress up as a woman.
And the yuck comment refers to having lived in Alice Springs for 18 years. My god.
Good point and being straight, I preferred To Wong Foo, too.
I think it is a funnier, lighter, more entertaining take on the story.
Priscilla relied too heavily on the big costumes and song and dance routines which we understand the gay community loves (and is, indeed, an impressive spectacle.)
It is almost like one, Priscilla, was shot from the inside out, while the other, To Wong Foo, was shot from the outside in.
So wave and say "hi" or "hiiiiiiii" as the case may be.
Well, I was straight the last time I looked (mumble mumble that one time in college mumble mumble just a kid and everything mumble mumble), and I have to say that right at this moment, I do like Woo Fong a bit more than Priscilla. But that's only because I've only seen the latter one time, and that very recently; whereas I've see Woo Fong twice already, and I'm presently watching it again on Movieplex. I was impressed by Priscilla, and it's quite a different kind of movie to Woo Fong.
To me, drag performers are a kind of cosplayer, no different in my mind to those who do performances while dressed up as elves or superheroes. Woo Fong seems to emphasize the cosplay aspect and how it affects the characters, while Priscilla seem to be the other way around. Also, Woo Fong is obviously made for American audiences, with familiar character actors (Stockard Channing, w00t!), but in Priscilla, Terrence Stamp is about the only one I recognize.
I do need to see Priscilla at least one more time, because I did enjoy it quite a lot. Who knows? It might actually convert me.
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"Oh, well" said Zanoni, "to pour pure water in the muddy well does but disturb the mud !"
Both films have their fine points and I enjoy both. But If I am going to chose, I will have to say Priscilla. Only because realism is very important to me. I have some very good friends who are DQ's and I can tell you that they DO NOT stay in character 24/7.
Hugo Weaving, Guy Pierce and Terrance Stamp (Who does not really count as DQ because he was a Transsexual) were wonderfully colorful without having to be in costume all the time.
I think the costumes (which won an Oscar) were fabulous and much more creative than Wong Foo.
The storyline of Priscilla is just not all camp and comedy. There is a serious side to it as well. It runs just a little deeper than Wong Foo.
Another thing about Wong Foo - were the people in that town so backwards that they could not tell that these were MEN?! I mean John Leguizamo's character yeah he looked the most feminine but Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes UGGH - he looked like a damned brick with make-up.
When Guy Pierce sneaked out to the Boozer/Boys Club meeting, when he accepted the beer from the man that handed it to him, that man knew straight away that he was being deceived and he was just some outback local dude who liked to blow stuff up.
Yes there are a lot of similarities and I have said previously that I enjoy both films but Priscilla is by far the better of the two
YOU MADE ME PLAY SECOND BASE!
I like them both but like Priscilla alittle more
cause it was abit more realistic.
In Wong Foo...I couldn't pass the 24/7 dressing up LOL
the first night they got to town they get in full face,hair,clothing,and jewelry....to sleep?
I liked Wong Foo much more. It was funnier, and lighthearted whereas Priscilla had more of a dark humor atmosphere. Whereas there's nothing wrong with that, I actually saw Priscilla AFTER viewing Wong Foo and expected it to have the same feel.
shareWhile I like both Priscilla and Wong Foo, I prefer Wong Foo. Of course they start out with the same basic storyline: 3 drag queens en route to a destination, who pass through small towns with backroads people who don't know what to make of them. In Priscilla, all they do is perform drag numbers, climb a mountain, perform more drag numbers, and one of them meets up with his wife and son, and they do another drag number, end of movie. Wong Foo takes a higher road. Vida and Noxeema take Chi Chi under their wing and arrive in a small hick town and they reach out, inspire and mentor who lived there, leaving it a better place than they found it, Case in point: Noxeema befriends the old lady and she started to talk again. Vida gives Virgil the ass whooping he so desperately needed and also helped the stuttering guy. Chi Chi stepped aside so Bobby Lee and Bobby Ray could hook up and even gave her some 'pointers'. They gave makeovers to all the women, boosting their self confidence and empowering them. The positive Karma they spread comes full circle with Chi Chi winning the contest and being crowned by the one who inspired them throughout their journey, Julie Newmar. In contrast to this, the 3 characters in the Priscilla story were less likable, more selfish and even self-loathing at times. The ending of Wong Foo leaves me feeling lifted, even exhilarated when Julie Newmar makes her cameo. It's a far better pay off than Priscilla.
sharePriscilla felt a bit too stereotypical of certain Australians to me, and put too much of a focus on "country bogan/lower-class Aussies." But then again, Too Wong Foo also portrayed lower-class country Americans as hicks and repugnant wife-beaters as well. So they come close in terms of offensiveness. Overall, I enjoyed both movie and entertainment wise.
shareI like them both. "To Wong Foo" however showed that not everyone in MIDDLE AMERICA is white racist homophobe
I enjoy them both but Priscilla is of better quality. Better drama and comedy in the perfect blend.
Terrence Stamp was top notch as Bernadette/Ralph.
Connie and Carla.
Kidding, but I love that movie! Especially because Toni Collette actually looks like she could be a drag queen.
Priscilla, hands down, although Wong Foo has its moments and is sweet and funny. Priscilla is more of a character-driven movie, and has a bit of a darker side (not that Stockard Channing's domestic violence storyline in Wong Foo isn't dark), and is really about the characters finding themselves. Plus, the dialogue in Priscilla is a bit snarkier and wittier, which I love.
TWF by far! For my tastes, it's lighthearted, not too serious, fun and fabulous.
It's the standout movie.
But I imagine I'm in the minority...