Tuesday, March 23, 2010

RuPaul's Drag Race

It's always so good to see RuPaul's Drag Race get love.

I got hooked on the Season 1 reruns a few months ago, just before this season's premiere, and haven't looked back. I have always loved RuPaul, but this show has cemented her place as a National Treasure in my book. She's just so smart and with-it and witty; the one liners she peels off are inSANE and marvelous and guffaw-inducing. What I really like about the show is that she actually has constructive things to say to the girls, and really wants to help them and see them succeed. She genuinely seems like a warm, compassionate person with a lot of trenchant things to say. I want Miss Ru to be the drag mother I never had! (Seeing her in boy drag is weird, though. She's so thin, but her shoulders are so broad. And she has this thing I've noticed with a lot of drag queens out of drag: their eyebrows are so sculpted, that they just don't look "right" without their accoutrements.)

So who do you want/think will win? Anyone but Tyra, I say! God, what a spoiled brat, and dumber than pile of weaves to boot. Does she like have Epstein-Barr or something? Because she sounds like she can barely get up enough energy to put two words together whenever she talks in her husky monotone. And the bitch just keeps doing Beyonce over and over again! She ain't even that pretty, I don't think. Thankfully, I do think she'll be this season's Rebecca Glasscock: totally on for too long and far too coddled by the judges (though at least Merle -- who I love, BTW, mostly because we seem to generally agree about everything, thus proving her genius -- seems to have had it with her attitude), but ultimately not really in contention.

I do NOT like Raven; she's like every stereotype of the mean-bitchy-bitter queen rolled into a not-terribly-attractive package, though I will admit some semblance of a sense of humor has recently emerged. But her cuntiness towards Tatianna really turns me off. Though I'm fine with her, I can see there being reasons to not like Tatianna, but Raven really just seems jealous because she's pretty. And the way she talked about Mystique and Nicole Paige Brooks was awful. I was so glad when her little troll-bitch friend Morgan was booted so at least we didn't have the two of them being all Mean Girl clique some more. Ugh!

I love Jujubee, but I don't think she's really going to pull it through. I'm also sick of hearing about her dead father. I try to not be cynical, because she generally seems a genuine person and undoubtedly the death of a parent she loved was a very important shaper of who she is, but last week seemed like one big "When my father died..." cry for pity to me. It made me feel jaded to think that, and I hate feeling jaded.

Personally, I'm pulling for Pandora Boxx. She's what I want in a drag queen -- i.e. has a personality and is funny. She's not afraid to look ridiculous, and, let's be honest, a drag queen has to be at least a little ridiculous, or else you're just a guy in a dress. A drag queen can look amazing, but if she can't get the crowd roaring at Toppers bar in Schenectady at Wednesday's Wet Underwear Party, what good is she? She's also a little older than the others, and has, apparently, been in the game for a while. I bet she knows what to do at Toppers; heck she's probably already done it ten times. I also love how her and Ru seem more simpatico; they both have an appreciation of camp and a sense of humor that a lot of the other girls don't. Plus, they're closer in age, so they get each other's references. (You can't tell me Tyra has any idea who Carol Channing is, for instance.)

However, if you put a gun to my head, I'd actually say Jessica Wild (who I totally want to do as a boy because he is HOT) might just pull it out. She just seems like the dark horse.

One last thing: I've heard from others that Season 1 was better, and I have to agree. The overall talent level of the girls as a whole seemed higher, and they were more professional, not to mention less petty. Also, oh how I miss "CAMEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!"

And as much as Season 2 is so obviously done on the cheap, with a sponsor for everything and looking like it's filmed in RuPaul's basement, the first season was even cheaper-looking. I think they filmed in RuPaul's guest walk-in closet, and there was a certain charm to that, like one day Ru and her friends said, "We have to save Toppers! I know, let's put on a show!"

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Frank - I have had the pleasure of meeting Ru Paul a few years back when she was in Phila. promoting her movie Starbooty (2007) a cult classic, with Tom Judson aka Gus Maddox. You should check it out someday if you like her humor.
She is as personable off camera as well as on and also out of drag.
Scott turned me on to your blog and I check back often!
Anthony
PS-my verification code word to post this comment was butop I was going to answer NO..LOL

Anonymous said...

Hi Frank,
I have wanted to thank Scott for a lot since I began reading BIE when it was still in black and white(all text) or at least it seems.
He is pretty special...I can't post a comment on his site?
So if you could pass this on, thank him for all the hours of fun, protecting my right to bitch about the US, serving his country, and for being so damned sexy, and for your blog.
Tim in the Loire

Frank said...

Anon #1: That's so good to hear! I've seen Starbooty on Logo, actually; I love Gus Maddox and Owen Hawk are in it. Still, and I have to whisper this, *small voice*it's TERRIBLE! And, like, not in a good way. You know, I thought Pandora Boxx was the sidekick in that, and thought, "That's rather unfair that Ru put one of her friends in the competition" but it's not the same drag queen.

Anon 2: Scott is definitely special. I don't know why you can't comment on his site; are you doing the little math problems? They're right under the fields where you put in your name and all, and if you don't answer them correctly you can't post.

artemunster said...

He needs to allow for cookies to post comments on Scott's site.

artemunster said...

... and the cookies have to be set before you go to the permalink, otherwise the comment won't be accepted immediately, it'll take a few times of clicking 'Sumbit Comment'.