Drag Queen

Author(s): Iñaki
Location: Spain

“Drag Queen"

Directed by Duncan Tucker
Written by Patrick Marber
Music by Gustavo Santaolalla
Costumes by Sharen Davis
Editing by Thelma Schoonmaker
Art direction by Rick Heinrichs
Make-up by Montse Ribé

Musical / Drama

Principal Cast:

Julia Roberts ("Linda" Johnson)
Keira Knightley (Diana Johnson)
Meryl streep (Tina McQueen)
Christian Bale (Adriano Ronconi)
Justin Kirk (Tim Mathews)
Gretchen Mol (Hannah Stuart)

Tagline: "When you are on the stage, you are another person"

Synopsis: In one of the largest casinos of Las Vegas, Linda Johnson is preparing her night show. Her bright green dress shines in front of the mirror where she puts on her false eyelashes. What se didn't expect is that Tina is going to give her a big surprise: her daughter is the corridor and she is looking for her.

Linda Johnson, played by Julia roberts, is a famous Drag Queen of Las Vegas. She has a spectacular show wher she signs her own songs with bright dresses and high heels. She is the most talented woman of Tim's casino. But her success is very different behind the stage.Linda is a man divorced from his wife, who lives in Seattle. They got divorced twenty years ago because Hannah (played by Gretchen Mol) discovered him in a club singing a song with a sequin dress and a blonde wig. Now, Len Johnson, is knowed as Linda Johnson has a different life full of financial troubles and addictions.

Her best friend, Tina, played by Meryl Streep, is a excentric woman in her fifties who has a better life. She has a main show in the casino which has a lot of audience. She usually leans Linda with her problems but sometimes it isn't enough. Tina is also involved in the drugs world and beacuse of her addiction, Linda is now a drug addict too.

Adriano Ronconi is the stylist of the women and he loves to talk with them. He always wears fashion clothes and when he talks he is always very satiric. He helped Linda to put an end to her drug adicction but Linda couldn't. He is gay and he fell in love with Justin Kirk, the manager of the casino. the problem is that he isn't gay. He is very strict and he doesn't like Linda and Tina but they atract many audience so he mantain the show.

The day of Linda's birthday, she was putting on her bright green dress with the feather boa when Tina entered nerviously in her dressing room. She said to Linda that a young woman was waiting for her in the corridor and she is supposed to be her daughter. Linda didn't understand anything but when she went out to the corridor, a beautiful young woman was waiting her sitted in a bench with a bunch of flowers. Linda knew that her life was going to change.

Diana is a young girl from Seattle who didn't like her mother's boyfriend and after an argument, she decided to find his father in Las Vegas. Linda and Diana, her daughter, played by Keira Knightley, started to talk about everything. Finally, the conversation was an argument about Diana's life. she used to live in Seattle with her mother and her boyfriend. She didn't like him and she finally decided to find her father who is supposed to be in Las Vegas. what she didn't know is that her father is a Drag Queen.

Linda is being helped by Adriano who tried to put and end to her addiction but it is very difficult and she is very weakness so she is finally affected by drugs. It procokes a cancer in her heart and when she went to the hospital, the doctor siad to her that it couldn't be treated.

Diana stayed at Linda's dressing room during the shows and one night she discovered Linda's diary hided under the blue pair of hight heels. In her diary, Linda writes everything about her life. Diana finally understand her father's situation and she tried to help him but it was very dffiicult because her father suffered a heart cancer which couldn't be treated. She feeled her life was getting worst and worst everyday. This caused her a great depression and she tried to comit a suicide but her father stopped her in the last moment. They talk about the reasons of her act and she explained her father everything, included the fact that she knew her illness. Linda said to he that she wanted to tell her the truth but she didn't know how.

Two months later, Linda's state was worse and when she was singing she feeled a great pain in her heart but what she wanted in that moment was finish her song and die gloriously under the night stars and the audience's aplausse.

What the press would say:

"Great, simply great"

The press loves this love story full of great songs singed by the cast.There are espectacular songs with great choreographies, specially the last song, "I would like to be a great star” inged by Julia Roberts whe she is going to die.

Press loves all performances. Julia Roberts fill the entire rol perfectly and she produces a great sensation when she sings. Her role is full of extress, addictions and troubles and they affect you when you see the film. The best part of her role is the last song where her voice create a sad environment which can affect to sensitive people.

Keira is great in this role. Her cruel argument with her father when she arrives Las Vegas is the best part of the film. Sadness and desperation are the feelings that you feel when you see Keira's role. Her song "My own problems" is one of the best parts of the film specially when we see her trying to cut her veins. Keira is a great actress and in this film she shows us her talent brighting in the big screen as any other young actress have nerver done.

Meryl Streep is gorgeous in this difficult role of a woman who has to face her problems with drugs. When she sings she is wonderful and she fill the stage. Her performance is one of the best of the year. Strenght and weakness are mixed in her role and you can see her as a brave woman after an scence where she was crying. she is one of the best actress of all times and she domonstrates it in this film.

And the last aclaimed performance is the stylist one, Christian Bale. His role is very complicated and he has never done anything similar but he is perfect in this role. It fits him. We see another person, you can´t think he could play this role but he really do it wonderfully. Christian Bale is a fantastic stylist and very funny. When he apperas, his accent, his walk, his clothes and his gestures makes you laugh and laugh.

This is one of the best films of all times and it has a wonderful cast with great performances. The director create a world of adicctions and shows which you can't understand until you see this film. Bright dresses, high heels and a lot of make-up transform the cast into other people. This is a film where emotions exploit in the fantastic dialogues of Patrick Marber (Notes on a Scandal) with Gustavo Santaolalla`s music as perfect background of this complicated film about a very difficult life, the life of success and failure.

The film is full of fantastic songs which help you to understand the film and they entertain you too. The cast sing all songs with their own voices and it sounds very special. we have to said that the dancers company which apperars in the film is great and they dance perfectly in each situation. And the work of the costumes and make-up department is great and you can see Julia Roberts as a Man and also as a Drag Queen and you think that she is a real man. In conclusion, all technical categories are filled with professinal people who create a real casino in a studio of Los Angeles.

Categories

Best Picture
Best Director: Duncan Tucker
Best Original Screenplay: Patrick Marber
Best Original Score: Gustavo Santaolalla
Best Actress: Julia Roberts
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale
Best Supporting Actress: Keira Knightley
Best Supporting Actress: Meryl Streep
Best song (“I would like to be a great star” – Julia roberts)
Best Make-up
Best Costumes
Best Art Direction
Best Sound
Best Cinematography
Best Film-Edititing
Best Score

These are the songs of the film (not in order):

"My own song" - Julia Roberts - the beginning of the film
"Welcome to Las Vegas" - Justin Kirk - he opens his casino on a saturday night
"Make Up, Make Up and gloss" - Christian Bale - He prepares the Drags for the show
"You and Me" - Julia and Keira - They argue about their future and... their past
"What are you waitin'" - Tina and Julia - They sing together under the disco ball
"My own problems" - Keira - Keira sings while she is trying to comit a suicide
"I would like to be a great star” – Julia roberts - Julia's last song
"This is my PUB!" - Kirk, Meryl and Julia - An argument between Kirk and Tina/Linda
"Mum and Dad" - Keira and Gretchen Mol - The argument between Keira and her mother
"My last days" - Meryl - She realises her situation of addiction
"Bye Mrs Johnson" - All cast except Julia - All cast sings when Julia dies.
"The dressing room" - Julia and Christian - Christian tries to convince her to put an end her addiction