- Starrbooty
Infobox Film
name = Starrbooty
writer = R.A. Charles (RuPaul)
starring =RuPaul Candis Cayne
Michael LucasLahoma Van Zandt Gus Mattox Jazmine Jimenez Dee Finley Lady Bunny Kayvon Zand
Ari Gold
director =Mike Ruiz
producer = R.A. Charles
distributor =
released =2007
runtime = 90 min (aprox.)
language = English
music = Songs by RuPaul| budget = $500,000"Starrbooty" is a low-budget film written by and starring drag queen
RuPaul . The movie is the fourth in a series of films starring the title character, a top secret government agent and supermodel. The original three films were all made in the mid 1980s by RuPaul and her friends with a budget of around $100, and were sold out of shopping carts around gay bars inAtlanta , Georgia.During production the film's working title was "Starrbooty: Reloaded", but when screened at film festivals it was simply called "Starrbooty". The DVD title is "Starrbooty The Movie".
The film is an homage to
blaxploitation andsexploitation films of the 60s and 70s. In an article for EdgePhiladelphia, RuPaul stated "The goal was to make an exploitation film that was part Russ Meyer, part John Waters and part The Naked Gun." [http://www.edgephiladelphia.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=movies&sc2=news&sc3=&id=21713 1] The movies utilizes things like obvious vocal overdubbing, grainy footage and dramatic cuts to mimic these low budget films of the past.The film's plot combines several elements from these original films. Starrbooty is in the middle of a major karate fight when she receives a phone call informing her that her adopted niece Cornisha has been kidnapped. With the help of fellow crime fighter Agent Page Turner, Starrbooty learns that her arch nemesis Annaka Manners is using her billion-dollar cosmetics company as a front for kidnapping prostitutes and selling their organs on the black market. Starbooty also discovers that Annaka is actually her long-lost sister, making Cornisha Annaka's daughter.
Page and Starbooty go undercover as prostitutes (as Pepper and Cupcake, respectively,) and in order to be convincing enough to infiltrate Annaka's inner sanctum, they go "all the way." (This includes numerous sex scenes with explicit male nudity, generally designed for laughs.) When Starbooty finally confronts Annaka she discovers that Cornisha was in on the plot all along, and has become Annaka's lover. Informing them that they are actually mother and daughter, Starbooty reveal's Annaka's plans to double cross Cornisha by selling her
clitoris to a wealthy socialite. (In one of the more memorable jokes, Annaka is also planning to sell Starbooty's long legs to a "famous female rapper," quipping "I guess they won't call her 'Lil' anymore!")A final showdown between Starbooty and Annaka leaves Annaka dead, and they are able to salvage Cornisha's genitals by taking Annaka's (a perfect biological match.) Thus everyone who deserves to lives happily ever after.
Screenings and Reception
The film began screening at various gay and lesbian film festivals in July 2007. RuPaul presented the film in person at each screening, often with other cast members. Erik Schut of The Philly Film Guide said "Starrbooty is a fried, dyed and laid to the side-splitting kick-ass good time!" It was the only film at the Philadelphia Gay & Lesbian Film Festival to be sold out at both screenings.
The movie's supporting cast is comprised primarily of pornographic film stars, both male and female. It is unrated, and though there is no explicit sex, it does feature several of its male stars frontally nude and erect, and at one point RuPaul is depicted graphically fondling a man's penis. Though this is primarily played for comic effect, it is a marked departure from the "Drag Queen Next Door" image RuPaul cultivated during the height of her fame.
The film ends with an on-screen dedication to
Jerry Falwell .The DVD was released October 31st, 2007. There was no distribution deal reached, and thus it was released by RuPaul under the imprint "Starbooty, Inc.".
References
1 cite book |last= RuPaul |coauthors= David Cashion |title= |publisher=
Hyperion Books |year= 1996 |month= June |isbn= 0786881658ee also
*
*RuPaul External links
* [http://www.starrbooty.com/ Official website of 2007 film]
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