Review: BIG EASY QUEENS (2023)
Camp is a lot like pornography: it’s pretty hard to define, but you know it when you see it. BIG EASY QUEENS, from director Erynn Dalton and writer Robert Leleux, absolutely falls into the camp category with its melodramatic performances, heightened plot, and multiple torch song performances. The mostly drag queen cast bring their over-the-top personas along with serpentine narrative and excessive gore to this crime story and deliver a wholly entertaining experience. There are some missteps along the way, but the heart and soul of the film make for a winning experience that will leave viewers excitedly looking forward to whatever this group does next.
New Orleans is a hotbed of criminal activity as a mob war rages between night club owner/performer Minnie Bouvèé (Miss Bouvèé/Eric Swanson) and her rival, Poodles Makenzie (Jennifer McClain). Multiple murders in their warpath while Bouvèé is haunted by some sort of stalking killer—who leaves behind the scent of gardenias as their only clue. This all gets even more complicated with the arrival of Minnie’s estranged sister, Mimi (Benjamin Shaevitz), with the two being on the outs ever since Mimi stole Minnie’s man. There are multiple machinations as Mimi is used by both Poodles and Minnie, all with that killer lethally waiting in the wings to strike at any time.
Firstly, it should be noted that BIG EASY QUEENS is made on a very small budget. This can affect how some audiences perceive the film—rolling their eyes at the constant B-roll establishing shots, rough lighting work, or awkward green screen moments. But movies aren’t defined by how much folks spend on them—imagination and talent don’t have an exact price tag attached to them. The filmmakers make do with their limited resources, wisely putting the focus on the performances and ludicrous plot. It’s only worth noting because too often indie projects are dismissed for such rough edges, and the viewers miss out on an awesome gem like BIG EASY QUEENS.
And the cast truly makes this movie sing—literally in the case of Swanson who has multiple musical numbers. Many of these are set over montages of painful memories or ongoing criminal acts, which brings to mind the Breathless Mahoney moments from 1990’s DICK TRACY. Those sultry songs performed terrifically (Swanson has an amazing voice) matched by the lead’s presence and Tennessee Williams’ southern belle drawl, a hilarious juxtaposition with the truly explicit violence happening around the characters. That same coquettish approach is adopted by Shaevitz, who combines that wide-eyed impressionable character with some funny moments of perversity and gore. Lastly, rounding out the titular queens, is McClain as the brassy Poodles—calling to mind the antagonists from FEMALE TROUBLE, JOHNNY GUITAR, and many a ‘40s gangster film with her massive personality and riotous Delta Burke-by-way-of-Edward G. Robinson performance (remember Delta Burke?). Each time it seems like one of the trio is the breakaway star, Leleux’s script provides a new opportunity for one of the other two to shine—and the actors perfectly seize upon it.
As noted, not everything works in Dalton’s film as well as the ludicrous story and terrific lead performances. There is a narrative tangent involving voodoo and zombies that makes no sense and even less impact on the proceedings (though it does allow the filmmakers to show off some fun undead makeup). This unnecessary aside makes BIG EASY QUEENS feel like it’s awkwardly treading water until it resumes with the excellent main story and its beloved soap operatic histrionics. Also the supporting cast simply isn’t as good as the leads, with the stark contrast in talent being rather obvious. Still, there’s a plucky attitude and a real “let’s put on a show!” zeal that infects the entire movie and one can’t help but enjoy it.
BIG EASY QUEENS is a terrifically campy affair that brings in elements of crime stories, southern melodrama, horror, and more into an impressive cinematic gumbo that is genuinely delightful. Hopefully its success (being featured at various film festivals and winning the audience award at Miami’s Popcorn Frights) means more projects on even grander scales for all involved. The imagination and inventiveness at play, coupled with the genuine talent displayed, is so compelling and entertaining that one can’t help but eagerly anticipate what’s coming next. It may be hard to exactly define what camp is, but it’s not that hard to point out true talent when it appears.
