Charles Busch, the humongous talented writer and performer of the brilliant theatrical spoofs "Vampires Lesbians of Sodom", "Shanghai Moon", "Red Scare on Sunset", "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife", among others, makes an enormous contribution with his screen treatment of the material he created for this film. Under the direction of Mark Rucker, Mr. Busch clearly demonstrates why he is a man ahead of his times.
Charles Ludlum, Everett Quinton and Charles Busch, were the ones responsible for the plays that made them icons of the Off and Off-Off-Broadway theater. These men transformed themselves into the larger than life women they wrote about, most taken from the movies they all adored. Those screen goddesses clearly received a lovely tribute from these performers. Charles Busch, perhaps, was the most visible of those early drag dramas. With his enormous success in "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom", Mr. Busch conquered a great New York audience as this play proved. The rest is history.
With "Die, Mommie, Die", Mr. Busch seems to be a reincarnation of a younger and sexier Joan Crawford, a woman that is revered by the author. This is a film that "borrows" from those women pictures where everything is larger than life. Those were films where outrageous things were done by the leading actress. There are elements of several of Ms. Crawford's movies, but one can still see influences of Barbara Stanwyck, Gloria Swanson, Bette Davis and others.
"Die, Mommie, Die" is camp of the highest order. Charles Busch plays the twin sisters Angela and Barbara Arden. These women are yin and yang in the Busch lexicon. In addition for looming large over the material, Mr. Busch's own take on the characters are never tacky, or obnoxious. As in all of Mr. Busch's plays, there is so much style that some of the studios would probably benefit from this man's talent in the fashion department. Mr. Busch has an impeccable taste as shown in all his appearances.
Of course, this is a film to enjoy because of the extreme situations that only a Charles Busch can conceive. The dialog is fast and it is witty beyond words. For people not exposed to Mr. Busch's brand of humor, it might take a while to realize this is a unique voice in this type of film genre.
The supporting cast, Jason Priestley, Natasha Lyonne, Philip Baker Hall, Stark Sands, and Frances Conroy, back up the star, Mr. Busch, and they make the film a lot of fun to watch.
Charles Ludlum, Everett Quinton and Charles Busch, were the ones responsible for the plays that made them icons of the Off and Off-Off-Broadway theater. These men transformed themselves into the larger than life women they wrote about, most taken from the movies they all adored. Those screen goddesses clearly received a lovely tribute from these performers. Charles Busch, perhaps, was the most visible of those early drag dramas. With his enormous success in "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom", Mr. Busch conquered a great New York audience as this play proved. The rest is history.
With "Die, Mommie, Die", Mr. Busch seems to be a reincarnation of a younger and sexier Joan Crawford, a woman that is revered by the author. This is a film that "borrows" from those women pictures where everything is larger than life. Those were films where outrageous things were done by the leading actress. There are elements of several of Ms. Crawford's movies, but one can still see influences of Barbara Stanwyck, Gloria Swanson, Bette Davis and others.
"Die, Mommie, Die" is camp of the highest order. Charles Busch plays the twin sisters Angela and Barbara Arden. These women are yin and yang in the Busch lexicon. In addition for looming large over the material, Mr. Busch's own take on the characters are never tacky, or obnoxious. As in all of Mr. Busch's plays, there is so much style that some of the studios would probably benefit from this man's talent in the fashion department. Mr. Busch has an impeccable taste as shown in all his appearances.
Of course, this is a film to enjoy because of the extreme situations that only a Charles Busch can conceive. The dialog is fast and it is witty beyond words. For people not exposed to Mr. Busch's brand of humor, it might take a while to realize this is a unique voice in this type of film genre.
The supporting cast, Jason Priestley, Natasha Lyonne, Philip Baker Hall, Stark Sands, and Frances Conroy, back up the star, Mr. Busch, and they make the film a lot of fun to watch.