`To Wong Foo' drags its high heels on old clichés

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RATING: * * *

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by Chris McKenzie

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But then again, men in drag aren't all that new on the scene. Of course, only after cross-dressers like RuPaul firmly implanted themselves, for better or for worse, in the public eye did Hollywood feel it was safe to step up to the cash cow and milk it dry.

So how do you make a Hollywood film about drag queens? First, to bring the audiences out, get a couple of big-name stars and put them in a skirt and heels. According to rumor, leading men were fighting to get the lead roles in To Wong Foo , but in the end they went to Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes.

Next, to give the movie that mass-market appeal, go to the vault and pull up a tried-and-true but hackneyed storyline. In this film the plot of choice is one we all know and hate: city boys/girls go to the country, cultures collide, but in the end the characters learn a little something about themselves and lives happily ever after. Previous examples of this: Son-in-Law, Doc Hollywood . Oh boy.

True, the drag queen element gives this idea an interesting twist, and it makes for a funny movie overall, but it only goes so far. In fact, the men in drag are the only things original in this movie; everything else, from the poor attempts at drama to the phony character development, is worthless.But if substance is secondary and all you want to see are drag queens, you'll probably enjoy To Wong Foo , because drag queens are what you will see.

Swayze and Snipes play Miss Vida Boheme and Noxeema, two cross-dressers from New York who win a chance to compete for Drag Queen of the Year in Los Angeles. In order to allow runner-up Chi Chi (John Leguizamo) to go with them, they sell their plane tickets and decide to drive across the country in a Cadillac.

Along the way they have a run-in with the law. And then their car breaks down in Snydersville, a small Midwestern town (you never know what state). Waiting for their car to get fixed, the three young ladies set up camp and begin immediately to have an impact on the previously quiet town.

One thing good about the three actors is that none of them ever overshadows the other two. A lot of that is due to careful dialogue, but mostly Swayze, Snipes and Leguizamo just work well together.

If anyone really stands out amongst the three, it would have to be Leguizamo (best known for his stand-up comedy) as the sassy Hispanic Chi Chi. Also good was Chris Penn as Sheriff Dollard, the policeman who becomes obsessed with finding the trio. Making cameos in this film are Robin Williams, RuPaul (who'd have guessed?) and Julie Newmar herself (the movie's title is the inscription on a picture the three girls takes with them as a good luck charm).

Again, if you're really interested in seeing a good movie about cross-dressers, this is not the movie to see. A better bet would be last year's The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert , an Australian comedy with just as much fashion but a lot more substance.

This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the September 15, 1995 issue.

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