Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

The Australian-made “Priscilla” shoves the alpha-male road–trip flick formula in a glittering dress, high heel shoes, and caked-on eyeliner, shimmying ass to Abba every mile of the way. There be drag queens, folks, and the leads of this comedy-drama-farce have the keys and wheel. No back of the bus for them. Our queens are played by Hugo Weaving (pre-“Matrix”) and Guy Pearce (pre-“Memento”) and – in a career-high performance -- Terence Stamp. Yes. Priscilla is the bus, btw. Weaving and Pearce play gay men who cross dress, the former direly sensitive, the latter flaming to supernova. Stamp is a “tranny,” a man who only found herself post-surgery, and he digs miles under the earth, showing still-visible pain and now wire-thin contentment. The plot has trio on their way from Sidney to a rural resort to perform a glam show at a hotel owned by Hugo’s long-separated wife, and along the way they meet prejudice and acceptance. “Priscilla,” bus and movie, hits ditches and blows its engine, especially in stereotyping Asian women and country folk, but the majority of film is dressed in love and acceptance that crushes hates and judgments. The soundtrack really is royally genius. A-