Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Terence Stamp, Bill Hunter, Sarah Chadwick, June Marie Bennett, Rebel Penfold-Russell, John Casey, Murray Davies, Frank Cornelius, Bob Boyce, Leighton Picken, Maria Kmet, Joseph Kmet, Alan Dargin, Julia Cortez, Daniel Kellie, Hannah Corbett, Trevor Barrie, Kenneth Radley
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, flamboyant road movie with real emotional warmth, memorable performances, and a genuinely iconic sense of style. It’s very much a product of the 90s, including some dated jokes and rough edges, but the energy, heart, and visual invention still land hard.
Best for
fans of queer cinema and drag culture
viewers who like road movies with a strong sense of place
people who enjoy camp, fashion, and musical performance
audiences open to 90s comedy-drama with some dated material
Skip if
you want fully modern, non-problematic representation
you dislike campy humor or theatrical excess
you are sensitive to 90s-era stereotypes and occasional offensive jokes
you prefer plot-heavy films over vibe and character
Overview
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a road movie that turns the Australian outback into a runway, a stage, and a pressure cooker. What makes it endure is the combination of big, joyous spectacle and a surprisingly tender look at friendship, performance, and self-invention. The costumes and production design are doing a lot of the heavy lifting, but the film understands exactly how to use that excess to reveal character.
Worth noting
It’s also a very 90s film in the way it handles identity and comedy: progressive for its time, but not remotely spotless. Some material lands awkwardly now, and a few side-plots feel like relics of a more careless era. Still, the central trio is charismatic enough to carry the film through its rough patches, and the movie’s affection for outsiders gives it real staying power.
Bottom line
As a piece of queer-pop cinema, it’s both funny and genuinely moving, with a soundtrack-and-costume sensibility that makes every stop on the journey feel like an event. If you like your movies colorful, defiant, and just a little bit messy, this is an easy recommendation.
Top Letterboxd reviews
victoria (3.5★) · 7847 likes
"Priscilla was the bus" is the gay "Frankenstein was the doctor"
Marian (5★) · 5504 likes
me if i was in mad max: fury road
Vivian (4★) · 3716 likes
I loved 90% of this but what the fuck was that stuff with Cynthia
1996 · Comedy, Romance · 1h 59m · R · Curator 7.8/10 (359.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Peacock Premium, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
A mainstream comedy built around performance, identity, and family dynamics, with a similarly warm, high-energy queer sensibility.
1994 · Comedy, Drama, Romance · 1h 46m · R · Curator 4.7/10 (45.3K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Paramount Plus Essential, Netflix Standard with Ads
Another Australian character comedy-drama about reinvention, loneliness, and finding a place to belong.