Showing posts with label Drag. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drag. Show all posts

Friday, October 13, 2023

Kornbread is a queen among queens in comedy and acting


Demoria Williams, known primarily by her drag persona Kornbread "The Snack" Jeté, is a hilarious entertainer who everyone should enjoy.

Kornbread was a contestant on "RuPaul's Drag Race" who earned the title of Miss Congeniality, and she also played a Mary Sanderson impersonator in "Hocus Pocus 2," among other things.

The thing I most know her from though is the various Brandon Rogers videos she's taken part in, hence the slightly NSFW compilation video above. She steals the show in every scene she's in with her comedic talents, strong acting skills, and overall sense of style.


I especially love Kornbread's performance in Brandon's "A Day with a Robot (NOT FOR HUMANS)" video, shown above.

Her comedy, acting, and singing talents are all on display, and she and Brandon are quite the dynamic duo. They always play well off each other in the videos I've seen featuring both of them.

Likewise, around 5:53 in the below video from "RuPaul's Drag Race," Kornbread lip syncs to an original song that showcases her entertainment skills as a comedian, singer, and overall performer. She's even one of the main three people highlighted in the thumbnail image.


If you want to laugh and be thoroughly entertained by someone with a lot of talent and attitude, Kornbread is your girl.

Thursday, October 12, 2023

Divine: A fabulous singer and the inspiration for Ursula

Harris Glenn Milstead, better known as Divine, was a singer, actor, and drag queen from the mid-1960s until his death in 1988, churning out hits like the above song "You Think You're a Man."

He was also the inspiration for Ursula in the 1989 Disney movie "The Little Mermaid," and his role as Edna Turnblad in "Hairspray" is the reason the character is usually portrayed by male actors.

Divine had a successful career working with filmmaker John Waters, who suggested the name Divine after reading the controversial book "Our Lady of the Flowers," but I think Divine's musical work can stand on its own.

Take for example the song above, "I'm So Beautiful." I'm not one much for dancing, but I wanted to sing and dance along from the moment I first heard the song, which is filled with positive affirmations and attitude.

If the first part of the song doesn't hook you, the chorus will with its repetition of: "I'm so beautiful / You've gotta believe that I am beautiful / I'm so beautiful, can't you see? Look at me! / I said, I'm so beautiful / Well everybody's welcome to this point of view / We're all beautiful, can't you see?"

The quality of Divine's singing makes me wish he had the chance to sing a cover of "Poor Unfortunate Souls" before passing. Who knows? Maybe one of the good things to come out of the rise of AI song covers will be someone simulating what that would sound like.

Either way, Divine's impact on pop culture is fascinating.

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night' is a classic twin swap tale


"Twelfth Night" is a classic Shakespearean tale where a woman pretends to be a man in order to make a living. The video above shows a rendition of the story.

Viola and her twin brother Sebastian are separated in a shipwreck, and when Viola is rescued, she disguises herself as a young man named Cesario in order to earn money. This leads her to work for Duke Orsino, who uses "Cesario" to help him woo a woman named Olivia.

The trouble is, Olivia instead falls for Viola's "Cesario" persona instead, and Viola falls for the Duke. There's also confusion when Sebastian reemerges and Olivia proposes to him thinking he's Cesario and they end up married.

After Sebastian and Viola reunite and the whole situation is sorted, the play ends with the Duke declaring his love for Viola. There was also a subplot wherein characters pranked Olivia's rude steward Malvolio into thinking Olivia was in love with him.

If any of that scenario sounds familiar, it's probably because "Twelfth Night" was later reimagined as the 2006 romantic comedy "She's the Man," which stars Amanda Bynes as Viola and Channing Tatum as Duke. The main difference is that Viola impersonates Sebastian rather than creating a new persona.

"Twelfth Night" is a funny, timeless romance story that's been reimagined dozens of times in all sorts of new and interesting ways. I even attended a Western version of the narrative at BYU once, complete with fake mustaches for the audience.

Don't judge the image quality. I took the photo on my iPod touch in 2016. And I was way too tired from all the ETS college tours to care what I looked like.

Back to the point, I really like the story of "Twelfth Night" and how timeless it is. Yet another of Shakespeare's play to novelization to teen movie adaptations for the win.

Funny enough, it's also an example of how long dressing in drag has been a thing, even if the reasons for dressing in drag were different for Viola than for more contemporary cases.

No matter how you interpret the plot though, the story has clearly continued to be popular for a reason and I'd suggest checking it out for yourself. Which specific adaptation you choose is all up to you.

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

'Mrs. Brown's Boys' is a comedic gut buster


If you want to laugh yourself senseless and you don't mind some verbal vulgarities, you absolutely have to watch "Mrs. Brown's Boys."

No matter how many times we've seen an episode, my family always has a good laugh at the jokes in the hilarious Irish show.

Take for example the scene above when Mrs. Brown (Brendan O'Carroll) gets her hand stuck in a condom. Or the scene below when she has an incident with glue.


The show centers around the antics of Agnes Brown, her family, and her best friend Winnie McGoogan (Eilish O'Carroll). Most of the people in the show are also friends and family in real life.

"Mrs. Brown's Boys" is filmed in front of a live audience, and one funny aspect of the show is that bloopers are left in rather than being edited out.

Leaving these bloopers in arguably makes the show funnier, much like the hilarious character breaks in "The Carol Burnett Show" and "Saturday Night Live."

You won't be disappointed watching "Mrs. Brown's Boys." The show is available on BritBox, but if you can't afford that right now, here's a good YouTube playlist to get you started.

Monday, October 9, 2023

'Madea,' 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' and 'White Chicks': 3 great drag movie portrayals

The following movies, whether standalone or part of a series, all feature men dressing in drag for roles that have become iconic over time. And they're all personal favorites of mine.

Madea


Tyler Perry's performance as Mabel "Madea" Simmons is one of the most convincing drag portrayals I've ever seen. I sometimes forget that Madea is being played by a man while watching.

Perry really fleshed out Madea's mannerisms and personality, and the costuming is perfect; the wig, makeup application, jewelry, and modest yet feminine outfit choices really tie the character together and help hide anything that might shatter the illusion.

Just look at the scene above from "Madea's Family Reunion" where she tries to avoid becoming a foster mother by ranting about how God gave women menopause for a reason. The comedic portrayal is flawless.

Mrs. Doubtfire


It comes as no surprise that Robin Williams used his keen impression acting skills to create such a convincing character when he portrayed the titular character in "Mrs. Doubtfire."

Between the costuming and mannerisms, you really wouldn't know that Mrs. Doubtfire was portrayed by Williams if you didn't see the transformation and other small hints that are intentionally slipped in for comedic effect.

If Williams was still with us, I'd pay to see a collaboration between him, Tyler Perry, the Wayans brothers, and Brendan O'Carroll.

White Chicks


Marlon and Shawn Wayans may not always be accurate in their portrayal of women in "White Chicks," with the duo going back and forth between exaggerations and the bare minimum, but the effort is clear, and the movie actually does address some of women's interests and insecurities.

Likewise, despite the uncanny valley effect of their masks—which was explained away as being the result of "plastic surgery"—the duo does pull off a convincing performance with regard to style and mannerisms.

And, I have to admit, they've got us pegged regarding the obsession with Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles." But to be fair, part of why I like the song so much is because of how it's used in the movie, especially in the scene with Terry Crews' character.

One thing is for certain though, all of these movies and their respective drag portrayals are iconic aspects of pop culture.

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