The Scoop: Before there was "Priscilla," before there was "Wong Foo," before there was RuPaul, drag was a shadowy, poorly-understood demimonde open only to those few who knew where to look. Now you, too, can be transported back to those days with this bizarre "special." Billed as a "drag beauty pageant," this contest features a boozed-up Lyle Waggoner (who seems inexplicably to be doing a Jack Palance impression) and Ruth Buzzi (who really should have known better) as MCs, and was held for some reason in the Shamrock Hilton in Houston, Texas, hardly a counterculture mecca. Ten contestants vie for the not-really-that-coveted-and-purely-fictional title of "Female Impersonator of the Year.," modeling some of the worst "Dynasty" drag you will ever see and the most amateurish of "talent" displays. Must be seen to be believed.
Best Bit: The deluded young queen who describes himself as "just a country boy."
Companion Viewing: "Wigstock: The Movie" (1995) and "Vegas in Space" (1991).
--by Mary Ann