Dreamland (Widescreen) (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)DREAMLAND is one of those little Indie films that sneaks up on you, draws you in and leaves you feeling fulfilled. Written by Tom Willett and directed with great sensitivity to both style and message by Jason Matzner, the film boasts a truly remarkable cast in every role and the ensemble acting is some of the finest in this year's lineup.
"Dreamland" is the name of a very small trailer park in New Mexico, out in the sticks, yes, but surrounded by the magnificence of majestic clouds in crystalline blue skies and a land free of industrial detritus - except for the powerlines that play such an important role in the story. In a sad trailer house live Audrey (Agnes Bruckner), a poet who has given up chances for college to remain with her father Henry (John Corbett), a man decimated by the death of his wife to the point that he is unable to leave the trailer even to buy the beer and cigarettes that sustain his life. Audrey also is caring for her closest friend Calista (Kelli Garner), a beautiful girl who dreams of becoming Miss America but knows her life is to be shortened by the fact that she suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. Audrey writes her poetry but her life is consumed by being the caretaker for Henry and Calista.
Into the trailer park moves a new 'family' - hunky young Mookie (Justin Long) and his mother ex-singer/performer Mary (Gina Gershon) and her live-in boyfriend Herb (Chris Mulkey). Audrey and Calista watch them unpack and while both girls find Mookie attractive, Audrey talks Calista into dating him. Audrey's only male contact is her 'sex-buddy', tacky and gawky Abraham (Brian Klugman) who works at the local convenience store with Audrey. Mookie and Calista begin an affair while Audrey looks on longingly, and when Calista lets Mookie know she has MS the relationship is strained: Mookie also is leaving for the university soon.
Audrey confesses her feelings for Mookie and Calista flees on a motorcycle to chase the now departed Mookie. She is in an accident and is hospitalized and since she has broken her relationship with her caretaker Audrey, Henry manages to draw enough courage to leave his trailer to sit at Calista's hospital bedside - along with visits from Mookie. Calista's accident makes her even more aware of her fractured future and she releases her feelings for Mookie, reconnects with Audrey, and Audrey's father discovers her many letters of acceptance to college she has hidden to prevent abandoning her role as caretaker and convinces Audrey to flow with her dreams instead of being imprisoned in Dreamland. And the manner in which each of the characters in the film resolves the changes now facing them is the tender ending of the story.
DREAMLAND is created by a very strong cast of fine actors who dwell solidly within their characters' psyches, making this somewhat surreal story very real indeed. The setting is extraordinary in its ordinariness and the camerawork by Jonathan Sela is impeccable. This is a strong story about coming of age, about quality of love, and about being human. It is a treasure. Grady Harp, December 06


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Matilda (1996) Review

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(More customer reviews)Matilda is worth watching, and I think worth owning too. However, let's get the reservations over before all the good stuff.
Miss Trunchbull, played by Pam Ferris, is a sadist. She is definitely mean. At two places in the movie she throws a child out a school window (she is really, really mean). Matilda's parents are self-absorbed and at best ignore Matilda, which occasionally borders on abuse. The images of Matilda's school can be disturbing, especially the "Chokie", a small cramped dark closet with spikes in the door. These images could be disturbing for younger children, particularly those under the age of 7 or 8. However, you have to judge the ability of your child to understand that these images are not real. These are the dark parts of the movie.
Matilda is clearly a genius, as evidenced by her actions from a very early age. Matilda overcomes her not very bright parents and learns how to fend for herself in the world. In fact, after a while she treats her parents as something to be concerned about, because they clearly do not know how to take care of themselves in the world.
Matilda is a positive role model throughout the movie. She learns to read on her own, and finds the value in the library and books. She learns that there are people who understand her (Miss Jennifer Honey, played by Embeth Davidtz) and love her for who she is. She also learns that people who seem scary to her (Miss Trunchbull) can be scary to others. Her desire to protect others and do what is right helps her overcome her fear of Miss Trunchbull and do what is right.
Mara Wilson plays Matilda very well. She has a lot of talent, and makes Matilda come alive. Danny De Vito plays Matilda's father and Rhea Perlman plays Matilda's mother, and every time I see them I cringe because these two are very unlikable characters, and I like Danny particularly. Danny also does a very good job narrating this movie, which somewhat ameliorates his turn as a semi-villain.
This movie celebrates, as it does in most Roald Dahl books, the triumph of right over wrong, and perhaps good over evil. The characters verge on being cartoonish, which is fitting for a children's movie. Having Matilda be telekinetic adds a wonderful element of fantasy with which children will identify. It is often a childhood fantasy to have powers or abilities to make things right, and Matilda obtains such a power and uses it for good.
This movie has a darker side, but the humorous moments and the Matilda's triumph over all the odds against her make this a fun movie. Worth watching again and again, I think this movie is well targeted to 8 to 12 year olds, but those of us adults that want to still believe that good will always triumph over bad and that good things eventually come to good people will find the message uplifting.

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The Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a serial killer - featuring John Malkovich; Laura Aikin; Aleksandra Zamojska; Orchestra Weiner Akademie (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)The 2009 play "The Infernal Comedy" - confessions of a serial killer by Austrian dramatist Michael Sturminger is a "comedy" only in the most dark and ironic sense. Based on the true events surrounding the conviction, release and recapture of Jack Unterweger, this is a strangely compelling vision. John Malkovich created the role and is, essentially, talking to his audience as if they are witnessing a lecture and book signing from the "Vienna Woods Killer", back from the dead. The drama and vision are made more complete and surreal by having a Baroque orchestra accompany two sopranos as a form of commentary throughout the monologue. The arias are chosen carefully for their depiction of various operatic women in abused, subjugated, disadvantaged and mistreated roles. The two sopranos, Laura Aikan and Aleksandra Zamojska, perform wonderfully and also serve to act as if they are but two of Unterweger's many victims. In real life, Unterweger had written a book, gone on tour, exhibiting the same charm that no doubt gave him access to women, all while still executing an additional nine women, only to commit suicide while awaiting trial in prison. The irony and the palpable "deadly charm" that Jack Unterweger probably possessed are carried off brilliantly by Malkovich, who excels at portraying unusual characters in intense ways. The opera extracts and the performances by the sopranos - musically and dramatically - actually highten the mood and make one want to learn more about this strange case. The orchestra, playing period instruments conducted by Martin Haselbock plays wonderfully and this play/opera/commentary makes a fascinating addition to anyone's collection. The "comedy" is present, especially in some of Jack's almost "throw away" dialogue (like his disgust with the laptop computer provided him) but ultimately the realization that this man was real and notorious and scarily unique make the comedy less funny and more - infernal.

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'The Infernal Comedy' is a stage-play for a Baroque-Orchestra, twoSopranos and one actor. It is based on the real-life story of JackUnterweger, a convicted murderer, acclaimed imprisoned poet, pardonedand celebrated author and journalist, notorious womanizer,and prime example of reintegration, who gradually was suspected ofkilling a growing number of prostitutes in Vienna, Graz,Prague and Los Angeles, later vanished from Vienna, fled into theU.S, got arrested in Miami, transferred to Austria, accused and finallycommitted suicide after being convicted of homicide in eleven cases.'If you wear this name, women will love you or hate you - call you a liar or pervert - but they will never leave you alone.'BONUS: inside THE INFERNAL COMEDYThe deceitful criminal history of Jack Unterweger, the prisoner convicted of killing a woman who subsequently became aliterary sensation and was considered to be a model of rehabilitation, is the true source and subject of the musical theatrepiece for Baroque orchestra, two sopranos and an actor. This role is perfectly impersonated by John Malkovich. Observationsat the rehearsals for this unusual and genre-leaping theatre evening are interwoven with historic background information.

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To Love Honor and Deceive (DVD) Review

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(More customer reviews)TO LOVE HONOR AND DECEIVE is one of those somber, serious-themed tv movies of the late 90s that offers competent performances wasted on a connect the dot script, that once again shows the underhandedness of our dear friends with the FBI.
Vanessa Marcil gives a good performance as Sydnee, a devoted mother whose world is shattered when her husband and young son are killed in a boating accident. After their deaths, however, Sydnee finds out some disturbing news: hubby had an affair with her best friend (Rosalind Chao), and lo and behold, he was a smuggler, extortionist, and quite a few other things she never dreamed about. Thomas Gibson (Greg and Dharma) sleepwalks through his role; James Wilder plays the handsome detective who falls in love with Sydnee; and Leland Orser plays the asthma-plagued FBI agent with his own agenda.
It isn't a bad movie, but it's slow pacing and excess padding keep it from being truly memorable.

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Item Name: To Love, Honor and Deceive; Studio:Direct Source Label

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Red Riding Hood Review

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(More customer reviews)My almost four year old granddaughter picked this film as she already knew the story of Little Red Riding Hood from her mom and dad. I was a little concerned it might be too scary as it is PG but I should have realized that she was able to handle it very well.
The wolf is a werewolf. Lainie Kazan is the grandmother and is reading the story to her grandchildren. Lainie is wonderful in this!! If you are over 50 you may remember her singing on the Mike Douglas Show or on Ed Sullivan.
While the wolf swallows people whole, it is done by special effects that make it look cartoonish thus not scaring even my granddaughter! She really loved the whole film and was very enthusiastically telling her aunt, one of my other daughters, how good it was!!
If you have a mature preschooler who understands pretend and cartoon violence, they will enjoy this as the singing and fun stuff are hilarious. There is a precarious situation for the two kids in the film but even that is broken by humor and turning out not to be as dangerous as it looks. Otherwise I would recommend the viewing be by at least 5 or 6 year olds.

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A Far Off Place (1993) Review

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(More customer reviews)A Far Off Place is the sequel to the bestseller by Laurens Van der Post, 'A Story Like The Wind'. Hunters Drift is a farm in Matabeleland (today part of Zimbabwe)
It is the home of Pierre Paul Joubert known affectionately by all who live there as 'Ouwa', where European, Matabele and Bushmen live in harmony with each other , and with the great flora and fauna of Africa.
This is before the forces of destruction and death, Marxist terrorists, massacre the whole population of Hunter's Drift , as they carve a path of blood through Southern Africa.
The only survivors are Ouwa's teenage son, Francois, Nonnie, the young daughter of a colonial governor and his Portuguese wife, both murdered by the terrorists and Francois' beloved hunting dog, Hintza. They are joined by a young Bushman, Xhabbo, and his wife, Nuin Tarra.
The four young people and brave dog , must pass through bush and desert , to safety , while pursued by the cold-blooded killers.
'A Far Off Place' is a heartwarming story of love hope and courage, and of survival against overwhelming odds. It is about the fine balance between all living creatures.
Not least it highlights the death and suffering caused so many times by those forces of evil that hide behind the slogans of revolution and 'Liberation'.

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Walt Disney Pictures and Amblin Entertainment team up to deliver a thrilling story, action-packed adventure, and breathtaking scenery! Thrown together under incredible circumstances, two strangers must discover courage and strength when they begin a journey across the treacherous African desert! Equipped with only their wits and the expertise of a native bushman who befriends them, they are determined to triumph over impossible odds and reach their destination. But along the way, the trio face a primitive desert wilderness teeming with deadly obstacles, including wild animals, ruthless poachers, and severe weather conditions!

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Prehistoric Planet - The Complete Dino Dynasty (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)Ignore the reviews bashing this program for recycling footage from the BBC Walking With series. Of course it's recycled, that is EXACTLY what the package says! It was reworked into a Saturday morning show for a younger audience. And it succeeds wonderfully at reaching that target audience. This show is great for young kids, about 3-8 years old. Hopefully, they will be able to eventually also enjoy the more academic original series of programs. But these are more accessible and I am thrilled to have them be preferred viewing over many of the other programming available on TV. Definitely, if you have a young paleontologist on your shopping list, this is a must!

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The BBC's award-winning Walking With Dinosaurs is now available in an all-new, kid-friendly format: Prehistoric Planet: Dino Dynasty I! The same breathtaking CGI and state-of-the-art digital effects that wowed millions has been given an incredible make-over with all-new music, educational fact files, and a younger, hipper voiceover by actor Ben Stiller. But the star of the show remains the totally lifelike, utterly amazing dinosaurs themselves -- great lumbering giants such as Diplodocus and Stegosaurus, fearsome predators like Allosaurus and T-Rex, all brought to life so realistically, you'll believe we sent our camera crews back in time. Prehistoric Planet: Dino Dynasty I is a wild, truly awesome journey into the ancient past that will leave your kids so awe-struck, they won't even realize they're learning!

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Panic Room (Superbit Collection) (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)I had to wonder, coming out of the theater, if PANIC ROOM wasn't David Fincher's attempt to Keep Hollywood Happy. After his brilliant FIGHT CLUB suffered mixed reviews and box office failure, he must have been aware that he needed a Big Hit if he wanted to keep making movies.
Enter PANIC ROOM, a dark, sharp thriller which showcases the talents of Jodie Foster and Forest Whitaker in a cat-and-mouse game between the new owner of a house and the builder of its security systems who is hoping to steal something the previous owner left behind: Whitaker and his crew break in, thinking the new occupants haven't yet moved in, and Foster has time to rush herself and her daughter into the house's Panic Room, an extremely secure high-tech saferoom: the room keeps the intruders out, but it also keeps their intended victims in.
Foster is brilliant as the claustrophobic mom who will do anything to keep her daughter safe, but the film comes up short when she makes choices that most of the audience will perceive as short-sighted at best and stupid at worst. Foster overcomes this script shortcoming by playing the choices convincingly--you can read the conundrum in her face and believe in her reasoning when she makes the poor choice.
It's a credit to Whitaker that his "villain" character remains sympathetic throughout--he's not the sort of terrorist-cum-robber that made Alan Rickman famous in DIE HARD. You find yourself hoping that some accord can be reached--that he can just get what he wants and get out safely. Unfortunately, his psychotic partners-in-crime make that an impossibility.
Fincher has always done an excellent job of taking us to the dark side of things, leading the camera into places that the human eye could never see. I'm not sure PANIC ROOM will have the staying power and rewatchability of FIGHT CLUB or SE7EN, but it's definitely the sort of taut thriller that's been missing from the A-movie circuit for years. Not quite a Popcorn Movie...more like a hint of Summer in early Spring.

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An effective exercise in "confined cinema," "Panic Room" is a finely crafted thriller that ultimately transcends the thinness of its premise. David Koepp's screenplay is basically "Wait Until Dark" on steroids, so director David Fincher ("Seven", "The Game") compensates with elaborate CGI-assisted camera moves, jazzing up his visuals while a relocated New York divorc?©e (Jodie Foster) and her daughter (Kristen Stewart) fight for their lives against a trio of tenacious burglars (Jared Leto, Forest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam) in their new Manhattan townhouse. They're safe in a customized, impenetrable "panic room," but the burglars want what's in the room's safe, so mother and daughter (and Koepp and Fincher) must find clever ways to turn the tables and persevere. Suspense and intelligence are admirably maintained, with Foster (who replaced the then-injured Nicole Kidman) riffing on her "Silence of the Lambs" resourcefulness. It's not as viscerally satisfying as Fincher's previous thrillers, but "Panic Room" definitely holds your attention. "--Jeff Shannon"

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The Fugitive (1993) Review

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(More customer reviews)When I first saw 'The Fugitive', I was hoping that it didn't fall into the trap of silliness that most TV-show based feature films have fallen into (remember 'Car 54', or 'Wild Wild West'?). Needless to say, I was more than pleasantly surprised to see that it went WAY beyond my low expectations! Great moments of suspense, action, and plot twists galore!
Harrison Ford's been knocked for not putting much 'feeling' into some of his roles. But if there are emotions he does do well, it's desperation and determined stoicism with a touch of sarcasm... a perfect fit for a fugitive out to clear his name. As well, Tommy Lee Jones is a lock as U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard- he plays the character's somewhat cocky and no-nonsense attitude to perfection. He also gets the best lines, and a pretty good supporting cast playing his U.S. Marshal Service cohorts (including the recently- recognized Joe Pantoliano). It's scenery-chewing at it's best, and definitely an Oscar-worthy perfomance.
Their performances of the two main characters and antagonists is so compelling that, like my fellow reviewers have stated before, I was rooting for the both of them throughout the presentation. It's two 'good guys' against each other, with one helping lead the other to the same end!
When I heard about the Special Edition DVD release, I was kinda bummed. I'd already spent a few bucks on the original release, and never anticipated the possibility of an enhanced version. But, thanks to those wonderful buyers on eBay, I got a good return on my original disc at a minimal loss, and grabbed a copy of the new one.
The new disc isn't half-bad, but doesn't quite match up to the standards of other fully-loaded DVD fare as `T2 Ultimate Edition' or `The Abyss'. It features teasers, trailers, and a few behind-the-scenes bits, including the setup & shooting of the train wreck. Davis even discusses a `flub' following the wreck that was cut out of the original video version, but was then digitally corrected and restored in this DVD release! And no, I'm not gonna tell you about it- you'll have to see it for yourself!
The commentary track by director Andrew Davis and Tommy Lee Jones was not one of the better feature-length commentaries I've experienced. There are parts where neither of them speak for a couple minutes on end, almost like they didn't have that much to say about the movie in the first place. Jones' commentary was minimal, with mostly throwaway-type observations that didn't really add much to the track.
And now, my biggest gripe: Warner is STILL using cardboard snap cases for their digital discs! You'd think they'd've gotten out of the DVD Stone Age by now...
'Late

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Catch him if you can. The Fugitive is on the run! Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones race through the breathless manhunt movie based on the classic TV series. Ford is prison escapee Dr. Richard Kimble, a Chicago surgeon falsely convicted of killing his wife and determined to prove his innocence by leading his pursuers to the one-armed man who actually committed the crime. Jones (1993 Academy Award and Golden Globe winner as Best Supporting Actor) is Sam Gerard, an unrelenting bloodhound of a U.S. Marshal. They are hunted and hunter. And as directed by Andrew Davis (Under Siege), their nonstop chase has one exhilarating speed: all-out. So catch him if you can. And catch an 11-on-a-scale-of-10 train wreck (yes, the train is real), a plunge down a waterfall, a cat-and-mouse jaunt through a Chicago St. Patrick's Day parade and much more. Better hurry. Kimble doesn't stay in one place very long!

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Deceived (1991) Review

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(More customer reviews)While some might call the plot twists of this 1991 thriller improbable, for me the tension and build to the film created a momentum that carried us to the incredibly scary climax. Doing less than 30 million in box office, this was not a big hit; but it is a film that holds up remarkably well 12 years after release. Goldie Hawn does an excellent job as Adrienne Saunders, a woman who seems to have it all with a beautiful child and happy marriage. Her husband Jack seems like the All-American father. Then when a colleague of her husband's gets murdered, clue upon clue seems to fly up in her face until Adrienne has to confront her husband. Then he mysteriously dies in a car accident. Director Damian Harris who seems to thrive on thrillers such as last year's "Mercy," does an amazing job of having event build upon event. The supporting cast of characters do a great job from Jack Saunders' sister to Paul Sullivan's mother. While this may not be a perfect film, it is a thriller that packs a wallop. Goldie Hawn delivers an understated and believable performance as the terrorized and deceived wife. This is a film worth discovering or revisiting a little over a decade after its release. Enjoy!

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To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar (1995) Review

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(More customer reviews)One year after the success of the 1994 Australian film "The Adventures Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", Amblin Entertainment and Universal Pictures joined to produce the 1995 American version, "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar". Like the Australian film, which featured a trio of drag queens traveling across the rugged Australian outback from Sydney to the isolated resort of Alice Springs in a pink bus, the American version featured its own drag queen trio traveling from NYC to Los Angeles in an aging yellow Cadillac convertible; but the similarities end there. The drag queen trio featured in the American version was Miss Noxeema Jackson (Wesley Snipes), Miss Vida Boheme (Patrick Swayze) and Miss Chi-Chi Rodriguez (John Leguizamo). After Noxeema and Vida share the title of a drag queen contest, they invite (with Noxeema's reluctance) Chi-Chi to join them to participate in a national contest in Los Angeles. Not having enough money for all three to fly to Los Angeles from NYC, Vida convinces them to instead use their winnings to purchase a car that all three could travel in. The film's title comes from an autographed picture of Julie Newmar that Vida steals from a restaurant and places in the used yellow Cadillac convertible that the trio purchases. Similar to the Australian version, the car breaks down along the way, forcing the trio to stay a few days in a small, languishing town. There, they meet the town's assorted residents that include hotel owner Carol Ann (Stockard Channing), her abusive husband Virgil (Arliss Howard), Beatrice (Blythe Danner), the polite Bobby Ray (Jason London), Merna (Melinda Dillon), Loretta (Beth Grant), the aging Clara (Alice Drummond) and restaurant owner Jimmy Joe (Mike Hodge) to name a few. They also meet law enforcement officer Sheriff Dollard (Chris Penn) who wants to arrest them.
Though arguably not as well made as "The Adventures Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar" is still a very entertaining and engaging film that is sufficiently different from the former to not be redundant. Cameo appearances in the film include Julie Newmar, Robin Williams (as John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt), RuPaul (as Miss Rachel Tensions) and Naomi Campbell. Memorable scenes in the film include the restaurant, the used car lot, Vida seeing her mother (Margaret H. Flynn), Chi-Chi earning rites of passage, Sheriff Dollard, Noxeema's interactions with townsfolk, the clothing store, the beauty parlor and the closing scenes. Patrick Swawye received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical, and John Leguizamo received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the Comedy/Musical. Sadly, Wesley Snipes did not receive a nomination for his excellent performance. Overall, I rate the film with 4 out of 5 stars. After watching the deleted scenes on the DVD, I concluded that they were best left deleted.

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CAR TROUBLE STRANDS THREE DRAG QUEENS IN A CONSERVATIVE MIDWESTERN TOWN.

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