Plot Summary: A dramedy about four Drag Queens who find themselves at the very same therapy retreat. In an effort to overcome issues holding them back, they dissect their problems, told in vignettes of their lives. They discover common ground, perhaps, it wasn’t serendipity that brought them together. Maybe they’re not alone?
My first film at Tribeca is the feature film debut of Jordan Danger’s God Save the Queens. I have to say as a card-carrying member of the LGBTQ family, I really wanted this movie to be amazing. It’s pretty sad, but I have to be honest and say, God Save the Queens is maybe one of the most baffling misses I’ve seen in recent memory. Let’s unpack this mess together, shall we?
First off, I wanted to mention some good things about this film. As feature film debuts go, I can tell that Danger is very present when it comes to how shots are filmed, framed and blocked. Though they vary in range, the actors do at least feel like they are on the same page with the material. The best way to describe this film is, it’s a series of vignettes that follow the lives of a group of drag queens as they struggle with various issues, which is framed in a therapy retreat. It’s worth noting that these sessions only take place at night, I assume for budget reasons. This premise is an interesting one that feels like it would be fertile ground for comedy, but also something deeply profound. Somehow, the film does neither.
God Save the Queens manages that rare feat of feeling at times under and over written. There are scenes that not only needlessly complicate its premise, but we get moments that feel like they only bloat the runtime. At the same time, there are story beats that feel underwhelming to the point of being frustrating. This comes in the form of the framing device the movie saddles itself with which is explaining why all these queens are at the retreat, but not of their own accord. However, as the movie goes along it seemingly invalidates this setup at every turn. For example, a young drag queen gets into hot water with a popular influencer through a series of events. Yet, in the end, things work out amazingly for them. So, why are they there in the first place? This entire framing device is gloriously puzzling, especially when you consider it feels that the filmmakers themselves aren’t entirely sold it.
This might not have been terrible if the stories themselves were done with more depth. Sadly, they are not. The stories feel shallow and never ever hit the emotional heights that you would want. To give you an example, one story follows Marmalade (played the amazing Kelly Mantle) who is told by a very strange fan/stalker (who she is pretty openly hostile to) that someone named Liv (Ru Paul’s Drag Race icon Michelle Visage) was overheard talking some shit in the lady’s room. Putting aside the fact that nobody questions why this guy was peeping in the lady’s room, it assumes that a tiny amount of hearsay is enough to rattle a pro like Marmalade into ranting at Liz (who is just innocently playing on her phone during her performance) moments later on stage. This is followed by a very hilarious and awkward slow clap moment that feels completely unearned. Seriously, I wish I was kidding.
This is a prime example of the movie trying really hard to be deep and meaningful, but instead it just comes off strange and empty. On the bright side, it is fun to see favorites like Alaska Thunderfuck and Laganja Estranja doing a stellar job despite being handed a giant mess of a script. God Save the Queens has good intentions but its aimless, not funny and doesn’t have the heart to pull it all together.
God Save The Queens is an official selection of the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival.
Directors: Jordan Danger
Runtime: 87m
Cast: Justin Andrew Honard AKA Alaska Thunderfuck, Jay Jackson AKA Laganja Estranja, Kelly Mantle, Jordan Michael Green, Peter Facinelli, Jordan Danger, Michelle Visage, Joaquim De Almeida, Luenell, Zack Gottsagen, Manila Luzon, Vicky Vox, Honey Davenport, Kimberley Crossman
God Save the Queens has good intentions but its aimless, not funny and doesn’t have the heart to pull it all together.
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GVN Rating 4
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Big film nerd and TCM Obsessed. Author of The Ultimate Guide to Strange Cinema from Schiffer Publishing. Resume includes: AMC’s The Bite, Scream Magazine etc. Love all kinds of movies and television and have interviewed a wide range of actors, writers, producers and directors. I currently am a regular co-host on the podcast The Humanoids from the Deep Dive and have a second book in the works from Bear Manor.