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Drag Queens & Trannies We Love 
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Celebrating the cinematic changing times and attitudes of sexual orientation and gender, here are a few of Cine Mata's very favorite characters - 25 in all - who dared to "go there".
​June 14, 2016

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To Wong Foo

​(Patrick Swayze, John Leguizamo, Wesley Snipes, Stockard Channing, Bythe Danner, 1995; director: Beeban Kidron, screenplay: Douglas Carter Beane)


A top favorite for sheer Drag Queen glamour, humor, and gender-bender wisdom. Patrick Swayze is a sparkles as Vida, deftly supported by Snipes as Noxeema and Leguizamo as Chi-Chi.
​
Vida Boheme: “Yes you will start off a mere boy in a dress, but by the time we are done with this crusade your Auntie Vida and your Auntie Noxee will give you the outrageous outlook and indomitable spirit that it will take to make you a full-fledged Drag Queen.”


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Albert Nobbs

​













​(Glenn close, Janet McTeer, Mia Wasikowska, 2011; Director: Rodrigo Garcia, Screenplay: Gabriella Prekop)

A heart-breaking film about the sacrifice one 19th century woman makes to be independent in a man’s world.

Dr. Holloran: Why aren't you in fancy dress?

Albert Nobbs
: Me sir? But I'm a waiter.

​
Dr. Holloran: Well I'm a doctor. We are both disguised as ourselves. That's a good one, eh?


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Pink Flamingos

(Divine, Mink Stole, David Lochary, Danny Mills, 1972; Director: John Waters, Screenplay: John Waters)

The undisputed drag queen Divine, the iconic cult filmmaker John Waters and a whole mess of filth and fascinating midnight characters just don’t know when to stop - and you know what?  We don’t want them to!

​
Connie Marble: Well, Miss Sandstone, Miss uh... SANDY Sandstone, you just must have been wrong in your assumptions, weren't you? I mean, surely you've heard the expression 'don't count your chickens'? Well, APPLY IT! I never gave you a final answer on this whole thing, and as far as you believing that you had the job, well I've never even considered that you would be the applicant that we would choose. You don't know enough! I mean, I wish everyone was like you and had never heard of Divine, but unfortunately it just isn't like that. Now if you wouldn't mind, I have a busy day ahead of me, there's really nothing left to discuss.

Babs Johnson: I'm all dressed up and ready to fall in love!


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The Ballad of Little Jo


​(Suzy Amis, Bo Hopkins, David Chung, Ian McKellen, 1993; Director: Maggie Greenwald, writer: Maggie Greenwald)


A story of Josephine “Jo” Monaghan, who decides to live a new life in the wild west.  Based on a true story.
​
Shopkeeper: It's against the law to dress improper to your own sex.
​
Little Jo Monaghan
: Yes, ma'am.


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Sorority Boys

(Barry Watson, Michael Rosenbaum, Harland Williams, 2002; director: Wallace Wolodarsky, screenplay: Joe Jarvis and Greg Coolidge)

How can this raunchy D-list movie top Tootsie and the Birdcage? Simple – Sorority Boys scratches the surface of this crass and crude flick to reveal a few universal truths – ugly ones, at that – about males and their (mis)treatement of women.

Dave: (Giving Leah a pick-up line) “A woman's face with nature's own hand painted, hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion.”

​Leah: (Responding) “ ‘A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted, with shifting change, as is false women’s fashion.’ ... Should I get under the table and suck your cock right now?

Dave: “What? Right here?”

​Leah: “Please – a few lines of Shakespeare, and you expect a girl to swoon.”


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The Crying Game

(Jaye Davidson, Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Forest Whitaker, Jim Broadbent, 1992; director and writer: Neal Jordan)

A surprising film, Davidson's Dil and Rea's Fergus are fascinating as a couple who find love has nothing to do with gender.
​
Fergus: "The thing is, Dil, you're not a girl."
​

Dil: "Details, baby. Details."


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Shakespeare in Love










​
(Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Geoffrey Rush, 1998; Director: John Madden, Screenplay: Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard)

A clever love story, set in London during the late 1500s, involving Shakespeare and a cross-dressing muse.

William Shakespeare: Can you love a fool?

Viola De Lesseps
: Can you love a player?


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The Birdcage

(Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, 1996; director: Mike Nichols, screenplay: Jean Poiret)

A champagne feel-good movie that hits all the right high notes, called iconic by just about everyone! Nathan Lane as the fussy Albert and Robin Williams as Armand – you really can’t get any better than this for sheer entertainment.

Albert: “Don't give me that tone!”

Armand: “What tone?”

Albert: “That sarcastic contemptuous tone that means you know everything because you're a man, and I know nothing because I'm a woman.”

Armand: “You're not a woman.”
​
Albert: “Oh, you bastard!”


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Yentl








(Barbra Streisand, Amy Irving, Mandy Patinkin, 1983; Director Barbra Streisand, Screenplay: Jack Rosenthal)

A young Jewish woman fulfills her dream of going to a religious school - the only stumbling block is that it’s for men only.


Bookseller: You're in the wrong place, storybooks for women are over here.

Yentl: [holding a book] I'd like this one, please.

Bookseller: [takes the book away] Sacred books are for men.

Yentl: Why?

Bookseller: It's the law.

Yentl: Where's it written?

Bookseller: It doesn't matter where it's written, it's the law.

Yentl: Well if it's the law it must be written somewhere, perhaps in here
[the book]
​
Yentl
:  I'll take it.


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Madea


(Tyler Perry, 2002 – 2009; director: Tyler Perry, screenplay: Tyler Perry)

Tyler Perry’s now-famous franchise wrapped in a morality play surrounded by comedy is simply great, no matter what movie is your favorite – “Madea Goes to Jail”, “Madea’s Family Reunion” I, II, or III, or “Diary of a Mad Black Woman”.

Madea: “Cora do me a favor.”

Cora: “What?”
​
Madea: “Put the shut, to the up. Okay? Shut to the up.”


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Victor/Victoria










​(Julie Andrews, Robert Preston, James Garner, Lesley Ann Warren, Alex Karras, John Rhys-Davies, 1982; Director: Blake Edwards, Screenplay: Blake Edwards)

A story of a woman who dresses as a man to get a job as a woman.  Simple, really.

King Marchand: I just find it hard to believe that you're a man.

Victoria: Because you found me attractive as a woman?

King Marchand: Yes, as a matter of fact.

Victoria: That happens frequently.

King Marchand: Not to me.

Victoria: Just proves the old adage: "There's a first time for everything."

King Marchand: I don't think so.

Victoria: But you're not a hundred per cent sure?

King Marchand: Practically.
​
Victoria: Ah, but to a man like you, someone who believes he could never, under any circumstances find another man attractive, the marg
in between "practically" and "for sure" must be as wide as the Grand Canyon.


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Boys Don't Cry


(Hillary Swank and Chloe Sevigny, 1999; director: Kimberly Pierce, screenplay: Kimberly Pierce and Andy Bienen)

Hillary Swank took home an Oscar for her searing portrayal of Brandon Teena, a transsexual man fatally trapped by small towns and their constricted views in this fact-based award-winning film.
​
Lana: “Shut up, that's your business. I don't care if you are half monkey or half ape, I'm gettin' you out of here!”


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Some Like It Hot


(Marilyn Monroe, tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, 1959; Director: Billy wilder, Screenplay: Billy Wilder)

Two musicians run from the mob and discover their inner female along the way.

Jerry: Have I got things to tell you!

Joe: What happened?

Jerry: I'm engaged.

Joe: Congratulations. Who's the lucky girl?
​
Jerry
: I am!


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All the Queen's Men


(Eddie Izzard, Matt LeBlanc, James Cosmo, 2001; director: Stefan Ruzowitzky, screenplay: Digby Wolfe and Joseph Manduke)

Eddie Izzard steals the show as Tony, in this WWII comedy about winning the war – on all fronts.
​

​

Tony Parker: (Well, actually, I'm a bisexual lesbian in a man's body... but it's more complicated than that.”


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Juwanna Mann










(Miguel A. Nunez Jr, Vivica A. Fox, Kevin Pollak, Tommy Davidson, Jenifer Lewis, 2002; Director: Jesse Vaughan, Screenplay: Bradley Allenstein)

An arrogant, sexist and unemployable basketball star cross-dresses his way to redemption.

Lorne Daniels: This is crazy. No one is gonna believe you're a woman!

Juwanna Mann: You did!

Lorne Daniels: All right. This is blackmail.

Juwanna Mann: No, it's black... FE-male!
​
Lorne Daniels
: That's not funny.


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Myra Breckenridge
​


(Raquel Welch, John Huston, Rex Reed, Farrah Fawcett, and Mae West, 1970; director: Michael Sarne, screenplay: David Giler and Michael Sarne)

The film that started it all! Gore Vidal’s gender-bending novel gets the Hollywood treatment – complete with a shuddering view of Mae West in her state of decline (not recline!).
​
Myra: “I am Myra Breckinridge, whom no man will ever possess. The new woman whose astonishing history started with a surgeon's scalpel, and will end... who-knows-where. Just as Eve was born from Adam's rib, so Myron died to give birth to Myra. Did Myron take his own life, you will ask? Yes, and no, is my answer. Beyond that, my lips are sealed. Let it suffice for me to say that Myron is... with me, and that I am the fulfillment of all his dreams. Who is Myra Breckinridge? What is she? Myra Breckinridge is a dish, and don't you ever forget it, you motherfuckers - as the children say nowadays.”


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Stage Beauty


(Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Rupert Everett, Zoe Tapper, Ben Chaplin, Hugh Bonneville, Tom Wilkinson, 2004; Director: Richard Eyre, Screenplay: Jeffrey Hatcher)

The play’s the thing, and in a world where only men can play the women’s roles - confusion will reign!

Ned Kynaston: Do you know the Five Positions of Feminine Subjugation?

Maria: What?

Ned Kynaston: The Five Positions of Feminine Subjugation. No? Perhaps you're more acquainted with the Pose of Tragic Acceptance. Or the Demeanor of Awe and Terror.

Maria: Mr. Kynaston.

Ned Kynaston: How about the Supplicant's Clasp or the Attitude of Prostrate Grief?

Maria: Mr. Kynaston.

Ned Kynaston: Funny, you've seen be perform them a thousand times. I'd have thought they'd taken hold.

Maria: Mr. Kynaston!

Ned Kynaston: Ah, well now, there's a feminine gesture. You seem to have managed the Stamp of Girlish Petulance.

Maria: I just wanted to act. I just wanted to do what you do.

Ned Kynaston: I have worked half my life to do what I do. Fourteen boys crammed in a cellar... Do you know when I was in training for this profession, I was not permitted to wear a woman's dress for three long years, I was not permitted to wear a wig for four - not until I had proved that I had eliminated every masculine gesture, every masculine intonation from my very being. What teacher did you learn from? What cellar was your home?
​
Maria
: I had no teacher, nor such a classroom. But then, I had less need of training.


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M. Butterfly


(Jeremy Irons, John Lone, 1993; director: David Cronenberg, screenplay: David Henry Hwang)

A tranny take on the classic opera tragedy, Madame Butterfly. John Lone steals the show with his gentle yet assertive Song to Jeremy Irons stodgy Rene.

Rene Gallimard: “You made me see the beauty of the story, of her death. It's, it's pure sacrifice. He's not worthy of it, but what can she do? She loves him so much. It's very beautiful.”

Song Liling: “Well, yes, to a Westerner.”

Rene Gallimard: “I beg your pardon?”
​
Song Liling: “It's one of your favorite fantasies, isn't it? The submissive Oriental woman and the cruel white man.”


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Transamerica


(Felicity Huffman, 2005; director and writer: Duncan Tucker)

Felicity Huffman’s Oscar-nominated role of Bree, a transsexual woman attempting to bridge the generational and gender gap with her son.
​

​

Bree Osbourne: “My body may be a work-in-progress, but there is nothing wrong with my soul.”


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The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert



​(Hugo Weaving, guy Pearce, Terence Stamp, 1994; Director: Stephan Elliott, Screenplay: Stephan Elliott)


Three free spirits bring their talents to an Australian desert resort, with mixed results.


Bernadette: [to Felicia] I've said it before, and I'll say it again: "No more fucking ABBA!"



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Zorro, the Gay Blade


(George Hamilton, Lauren Hutton, Rob Leibman, Brenda Vaccaro, 1970; director: Peter Medak, screenplay: Hal Dresner)

A playful romp around old California with George Hamilton's cheeky Zorro, his gay twin brother Ramon, and Lauren Hutton's rebel Charlotte Taylor-Wilson.


Charlotte Taylor-Wilson: "How can there be two of you?"
​
Zorro: "You always said when the revolution came, there would be more for everyone."


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Rocky Horror Picture Show


(Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, 1975; Director: Jim Sharman, Screenplay: Jim Sharman)


An innocent pair of lovers get stuck in one strange hotel in this cult musical.



​


Janet: Brad, please, let's get out of here!

Brad: For Godssakes, keep a grip on it, Janet.

Janet: But it seems so unhealthy here.

Brad: It's just a party, Janet.

Janet: Well, I wanna go!

Brad: Well, we can't go back to the car unless we get to a phone.

Janet: Well, ask the butler or someone!

Brad: Just a moment, Janet. We don't want to interfere with their celebration.

Janet: This isn't the Junior Chamber of Commerce, Brad!


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Hedwig and the Angry Inch



(John Cameron Mitchell, Michael Pitt, Miriam Shor, Andrea Martin, 2001; Director: John Cameron Mitchell, Screenplay: John Cameron Mitchell)







A wig-happy transsexual looks for love and fame in all the wrong places. 

Hedwig: One day in the late mid-eighties, I was in my early late-twenties. I had just been dismissed from University after delivering a brilliant lecture on the aggressive influence of German philosophy on rock 'n' roll entitled, 'You, Kant, Always Get What You Want.' At 26, my academic career was over, I had never kissed a boy, and I was still sleeping with mom. Such were the thoughts flooding my tiny head on the day that I was sunning myself... in an old bomb crater I had discovered near the Wall. I am naked, face down, on a broken piece of church, inhaling a fragrant westerly breeze. [sees the golden arches of a McDonald's sign over the wall] My God, I deserve a break today.



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The Fifth Element



(Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Chris Tucker, 1997; Director: Luc Besson, Screenplay: Luc Besson)


A guy, a Goddess-in-training and a bad guy race against time in this sci-fi thriller that boasts Chris Tucker as one unforgettable tv host.  Oprah, move over!

DJ Ruby Rhod: Korben sweetheart, what was that? It was BAD! It had no fire, no energy, no nothing! Y'know I got a Show to run here, and it must pop POP POP! So tomorrow from 5 to 7 will you PLEASE act like you have more than a two word vocabulary. It must be green, okay?

Korben Dallas: Can I talk to you for a second?
[Throws Ruby up against a wall]

Korben Dallas: I didn't come here to play Pumbaa on the radio. So tomorrow from 5 to 7 your gonna give yourself a hand, You green?
​
DJ Ruby Rhod
: [Strangling Voice] Supergreen.


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Tootsie


(Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Bill Murray, 1982; director: Sydney Pollack, screenplay: Don McGuire and Larry Gelbart)

A classic tale about a boy who gets a part in a TV soap by dressing as a woman, boy falls in love with girl, girl sets up boy with her father… Dustin Hoffman’s Michael and Jessica Lange’s Julie bond amid backstage chaos and real-life confusion to the delight of all.
​


Michael Dorsey: “You should have seen the look on her face when she thought I was a lesbian.”

George Fields: “Lesbian? You just said gay.”
​

Michael Dorsey: “No, no, no - SANDY thinks I'm gay, JULIE thinks I'm a lesbian.”


All quotes are from IMDb.

COPYRIGHT 2012/2016. Paulette Reynolds.  All CineMata Movie Madness blog articles, reviews, faux interviews, commentary, and the Cine Mata character are under the sole ownership of Paulette Reynolds.  All intellectual and creative rights reserved.  
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