Search - Pageant on DVD

Meeting Miss Gay America

Amos Lassen | Little Rock, Arkansas | 07/26/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Pageant"
Meeting Miss Gay America
Amos Lassen

Wolfe Releasing brings us "Pageant", a film that takes you behind the scenes at the Miss Gay America contest. Fifty-two men compete for the title but the movie follows only five of them as they prepare to win the crown.
Drag is about the art of illusion so the contestants must be hormone free. They must compete with just using makeup, movement and costumes. The movie brings us personal interviews with the contestants and their families and supporters and we feel the hope they feel
I am not really an aficionado of drag but this movie is so very well done that I fell under the spell of it. It is touching and wonderful at the same time.
The film brings us a great deal of illusion and it made me look at drag in a whole new way. This is a film that you should want to see."

Interesting film

Sheila Marie | Tampa, FL | 11/28/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I watch "Toddlers and Tiaras" on occasion and stumbled across this film going through NetFlix's instant watch movies. I am interested in pageant life so decided to read what it was about. That's when I found out it was a drag queen competition. Hello, that peaked my interest even more. It's an interesting film for those who don't know much about what drag queens actually do to get ready to perform. It allows us a quick glimpse into this portion of their lives and why they do it. The queens themselves are articulate and intelligent and seem to know themselves very well. I learned a few things about how they achieve their looks, but would liked to have learned more. That said, this isn't a "how to become a drag queen" movie so you can't really give it marks off for not doing so. If you enjoy the art of drag queens and want to learn more about a few of them, then this is a good film."

Not Your Usual Pageant

stoic | Mobile AL | 03/03/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Each year since 1973, a group of crossdressing gay men has gathered to crown the new Miss Gay America. Pageant is a documentary focusing on the 2006 contest in Memphis.

The fascinating aspect of Pageant is its people. It is always revealing to watch a person who becomes immersed in a hobby. These men have become so enamored of chasing the title that they reveal themselves unintentionally in many ways.

The amount of time and effort that the characters devote to the pageant is amazing. Some of the performances in the contest are amazing. The film draws the viewer in so that the viewer feels for the men who do not place in the coveted Top Ten.

Pageant is a fun look at a subculture about which most of America knows nothing.
"

Didn't Expect to Love It

Robert Byrd | Minneapolis, MN United States | 01/14/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was told about this film by a friend, so I decided to take a chance on it. Documentaries are my favorite genre of filmmaking and I hadn't seen anything on this topic before. I was completely enchanted by this wonderful and profoundly moving film. I found it engaging on so many levels, from the personal profiles of contestants it followed to the suspenseful buildup to the big Miss. Gay America Pageant itself. Only those with deep-seated antipathy toward gays, or hearts of stone, will walk away from this beautiful little gem unaffected.

At various points in the film I found myself thinking that if the subject matter were different this might well have been an Oscar contender. Anyway, watch it - it's a top-flight human interest story about the importance of dreams from the perspectives of a bunch of serious and seriously funny queens!"