Pageant

Official Website: http://www.pageantmovie.com/

Across America there is one event that every Female Impersonator wants to be a part of and that is Miss Gay America. For every little boy that wanted to be Miss America this is a sparkly, spangly, massively heavily made-up helluva show build on dreams, a lot of hard cash and more foam padding than you'd need to make a little jacket for the Millennium Dome. There is one major rule though which is that everything must be natural. That's natural in a drag queen way you understand. Which means that any amount of make up, padding, chicken fillets, clever costuming, layers of tights (oh! How they layer the tights!), discreet minimising briefs and thongs are all fair game but hormones and surgery are absolutely out. Which makes the whole contest a mastery of the art of illusion and a thing of great commitment for all competitors, something the wonderfully talented director/producers of Pageant, Ron Davis and Stewart Halpern, realised in putting together this gem of a documentary.

Over the course of the film we meet 5 gorgeous female impersonators: Carl Glorioso from Kansas, a charming gardener and "trained cosmetologist", is the stunning Victoria dePaula; Anthony Brewer, a flight attendant from San Jose, glams up to be the feisty and sexy Alina Malletti; David Lowman of Raleigh, North Carolina, transforms (professionally) into Coti Collings 365 foundation busting days a year; adorably odd Disney Florida employee Robert Martin transforms into slightly over shoulder padded Chantel Reshae; and finally Victor Parker, another pro but this time from Nashville drags up into the energetic star that is Victoria "Pork Chop" Parker who comes replete with Victors not insubstantial (but definitely natural) "MacDonalds" man boobs.

All five of our leading men make stunning and/or talented ladies but they face stiff competition in the 34th Miss Gay America Pageant with 450 competitors trying to qualify for the finals and $50-60,000 prize money - plus a major tiara - at stake. And with all the competitors pouring their own money into their gowns, jewellery, props and back-up dancers this is a serious financial commitment making for some hard core ambition and drive. These men WILL win the pageant if it takes 20 square feet of polystyrene, millions of sequins and some of the finest wigs known to man dammit. Although that can make for some self absorption of extreme levels. Anthony for instance is very much the star of his home and so fixated is he on winning (and he's sure he will!) that even his hubby is obsessed with the pageant to an unhealthy degree leaving only their preteen son to retain a sense of proportion about the whole thing. Despite that occasional glimmer of killer competitiveness all our contestants are nonetheless warm and charming and mostly well adjusted. Indeed Victor Parker is a hero to curvy folks everywhere since not only is Victoria a creation of supreme entertainment but also a vital energy that makes her very unconventional look surprisingly alluring. With decades in the business Victor's also pretty happy with his look and style and makes a very pleasant living from it - what more could you ask for if you've always loved putting on dresses and immense amounts of eye shadow? Although David Lowman cuts a more self-critical figure, but then whilst Victor is a resident performer, David tours the country with his varied show parodying gay icons like the bizarrely popular Reba MacIntyre.

For the amateur contestants the pageant is not only a fun thing to do but also a statement of visibility - particularly for Robert who seems to have a wonderful sense of middle class embarrassment about his hobby though one senses he would feel the same way about golfing or being a part time DJ or essayist, it's just his way. It's also a chance to launch a new career and if the support of Carl's family in the film is anything to go by his mother should be his agent if he ever decides to quit the day jobs since she's a wonderfully supportive and enthusiastic figure singing his praises to such a degree that Carl's young brother is almost nonplussed by seeing his big bro with fake boobs in 3 inch heels and yards of glitter.

For a first documentary (for Davis at least) this is an incredible achievement. We get immense access to all 5 stars who reveal their dreams, their insecurities and their reasons for taking part in this most fabulous of American traditions in a beautifully elegant and skillfully unravelled journey through their spectacular rounds and then finale of Miss Gay America. It is one of the most enjoyable documentaries I have seen in years whilst also being as insightful and personal as the most serious of films. Perhaps unexpectedly this is also one of the warmest, cleanest and most family friendly of stories - although it would be a superb double bill with the cynical likes of Drop Dead Gorgeous - as it is one of striving for dreams no matter how unconventional or ambitious. And as one contestant in this age and sexuality(really) neutral contest puts it: "Miss Gay America is so much better than Miss America: We're just happier people!"

Reviewed by Nicola Osborne.