Episode 11: Richard Benner's OUTRAGEOUS!

Hello, welcome—and in the spirit of our neighbors to our north, bonjour bienvenue. In this month's episode, we discuss a film that almost defies belief: a highly popular and critically acclaimed queer film from the 1970s about a drag queen's ambitions for stardom and his tumultuous friendship with a mentally ill gal-pal—all produced through a deliberate and infamous loophole in the Canadian tax code. The story, and the film, is truly outrageous. Liz and KJ spend this episode discussing Richard Benner's true gem of a film OUTRAGEOUS!, including how it actually made its star Craig Russell an international drag superstar. They dive into the era of Canadian tax shelter films, and discuss why the kinda-genre doesn't entirely deserve its bad rap. Your hosts also consider the film's provocative advertising campaign, what made this film take off as the beloved and acclaimed film in its time versus other 70s gay films, and what issues may have kept this from being seen as a key moment in drag and queer film history. You can catch OUTRAGEOUS! at the IFC Center in Manhattan on Thursday, February 27 at 7PM. If you're in the New York City metro area, we'd love to see you there!