14 July, 2005

family night at the movies with dancing queens, san francisco style

R & I took the whole family last night to see the AIDSWALK benefit screening of one of our all time favourite movies, "the Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" at the Sony Metreon. it was also the 10 year anniversary of the movie. we first saw it during its world premiere at the Castro in 1995 during the SF Film Festival. Stephan Elliot, the director, was on hand to talk about the movie. Hugo Weaving wasn't Agent Smith nor Elrond yet, Guy Pearce hadn't gone to LA Confidential yet, and Terence Stamp was already a long time established macho/bad guy heavy actor. Isa was 1 1/2, Raffy was gestating 2nd trimester in my tummy, and Jules was a twinkle in the universe waiting for parents.

being a benefit, they were also selling raffle tickets for VIP IMAX tickets for the upcoming Harry Potter movie as well as tickets to the musical Wicked. we bought a few. hosting last night's screening was the towering and statuesqe Sister Roma and the lovely, elegant and delightful Empress XXX Donna Sachet (who, as coincidences go, was 1995's Miss Gay San Francisco).

here's a quick sketch of what happened last night before the movie started:

the theater last night was packed, just as it was on opening night. we got there close to starting time, so we took the remaining available seats... front and center. isa, with my encouragement, was decked out in all kinds of baubles, bangles, beads, and feathers. she had this purple, lavender, silver color scheme goin' on. since we were right in front, and since we were the only folks with children, and since isa had feathers and sparkly things, she of course was noticed by Donna Sachet and Sister Roma, who calls isa up and says, "now this is the kind of dressing i encourage!"

applause applause from the audience.

isa's looking really pleased (she likes being on stage... i wonder where she got that from).

then Donna says, "ok honey, have a seat, you're stealing focus..." laughter from the audience. some witty banter from the hosts then they start the raffle drawing. they called isa back in front to pull out a winning ticket.

Donna to Isa: "umm, you ARE a girl right?"

more laughter from the audience.

Donna: "well, this IS san francisco, you never know!"

isa pulls the winning ticket... drat.. not us (i wanted those VIP passes)

meanwhile, juju is jumping up and down as she sat on daddy's lap... Pick me! pick me!!

so,Donna says as she goes to juju and R: "well, since we don't want sibling rivalry, let's get the sibling up here... your name?"

Jules: "juliette"

Donna: "and you are..."

Jules (not skipping a beat): "a seven year old"

more laughter from the audience. juju picks winning ticket. drats again! not us.

Donna walks juju back, and looks at Raffy sitting next to me.

Donna: "well, of course we don't want him to feel left out." takes Raffy up front. "now, if your parents taught you right, you wouldn't stand too close to the drag queens..." laughter from the audience..."your name?"

Raffy (in characteristic deep booming voice): "Rafael"

audience member behind me: "what lovely names!"

Donna: "try to pull your mom's ticket..."

Raffy pulls out winning ticket, and oh well, no luck, not us.

Donna to LG as she walks Raffy back to seat: "are there any more of these (refering to kids)?"

then more banter, banter, laughter, laughter, a couple more prizes and we don't get any of them. it's all good anyhow, we're having a great time. then, a surprise last minute prize, a film company called AMG (i think) donated $320 worth of gay porn, 8 tapes! Sister Roma, being the expert on gay porn, talks a little bit about the history of this company, and how wonderful a prize this is.

Donna: "ok, so this will be for the 21 + over only..."

laughter from the crowd. they pull the number... and... i don't believe it. it's one of our tickets!!!

LG: "oh no!! we got it!!"

Donna and Sister Roma, mouths agape: "what!!! you are kidding!!"

R, carrying juju, stands up in front waving the victory sign, hootin' and hollerin'. the whole theater explodes in laughter. i am in tears from laughing too hard. i'm thinking, of course we wouldn't get the harry potter movie tickets, we'd get porno, gay porno instead!!

since we couldn't take the videos, the theater offered us movie passes for the entire family, and they raffle off the films one more time.

Donna: "ok, before we continue, honey, give me the rest of your tickets"

Raffy hands her all our tickets, and Donna tosses all of them over her shoulders.

we had such a fantastic time last night. the movie was wonderful to see in the large screen again (i can watch that movie over and over), and the crowd was just awesome. it was great to cheer for our favourite characters (you all remember cynthia and her pingpong balls?) and to sing along to some of the songs. the kids enjoyed the movie thoroughly (though i had to explain a few things to Raffy and Juju). R & I were laughing the whole way home. My sister in law Mellina says, "hey! that was YOUR gay erotica they took away from you! i'd complain!"

i'm thinking about what ED said to me at Isaac's party, "you guys always have great stories!" i swear, i don't know how this always seems to happen to us.