"To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar"

Author's Rating:

Pros: Good fun. I should look as good as these men-dressed-as-women

Cons: Deals with homosexuality, though it is down-played. Has no strong sexual content.

The Bottom Line: 
To Wong Foo isn't an action, adventure or romance movie. It's simply good fun for the opened minded viewer with a sense of humor and a heart.

Author's Review
Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, and John Leguizamo as drag queens who head west from the Big Apple, in search of fame and fortune, after Noxeema (Snipes) & Vida (Swayze) win a beauty pageant. They feel sorry for young and inexperienced Chi-Chi, (Leguizamo,) and sell their plane tickets to buy a used Cadillac, so all of them can travel together, in typical drag-queen style.

They don't make it to their destination, because the car breaks down outside a little dirt-water town, in the middle of nowhere. It will be several days before the part can be delivered to fix the old convertable, so they have to stay over. (Naturally!)

Culture clash to the extreme!! The tired and frumpy town's women are curious and a little envious, about these flashy-dressed, very sophisticated ladies, but have no idea that they aren't what they seem. Meanwhile, the "Ladies" have that snobbish "how-can-anyone-live-like-this" attitude about the dusty, drab townfolk. The local men in town are stunned by the incredible well-groomed, pampered princesses, (queens) from New York.

The Ladies jump-in and fix up their shared room in the town's inn, tossing scarves, beads, and feminine stuff all around, so it looks more acceptible for their flamboyant tastes. The women are outside, some looking through the window, wondering about these strange socalites who drifted into their humble little town.

After improving the room and adding their flashy style to it, the Ladies go out to explore their temporary surroundings, get to know a little bit about the people, and find themselves drawn to the simple lifestyle, out of concern for their fellow humans. These simple people capture their interest: an abused housewife, a love-struck teenager, an old women who hasn't talked since her husband died, a stuttering and awkward thrift shop clerk, and the others. Chi-Chi even finds romance with one of the local men, though he isn't aware of her true identity.

They help the local women do make-overs, picking out new fashions at the local thrift shop, help with the annual strawberry festival plans, and teach the men a little respect for their women. They learn a bit of respect, too, for people and lifestyles they could never understand in New York.

The story is funny, moving and eyeopening, without any graphic or exploitive and degrading scenes, and no preachy attitudes about sexual-identity tolerance. Adult material, but tastefully done........ as tastefully as one could be with this as a subject for comedy.

Seeing the "macho" actors like Swayze and Snipes in women's fashions was funny. Leguizamo, being smaller built, was more convincing in his female movements and I love his indignant sarcasm. I enjoyed it, and added it to my mental collection of films to watch again, but it's not one I'd rent or buy. (I've seen it several times already, over the years.)

Though I can't recall any other comedies about gay/lesbians who cross-dressed, I do know of a number of movies about straight-people-cross-dressing. You may like this one, if you liked these:
"Tootsie"
"Victor/Victoria"
"Mrs. Doubtfire"

Or if you're a fan of Swayze, Snipes or Leguizamo, and can handle them in totally uncharacteristic roles.

It's a chick flick, or one only the most open-minded men would enjoy. If your honey is the semi-homophobic type, watch it without him, cause he'll keep "poo-poo-ing" these tough guys dressed in drag, and spoil it for you.