SALLY TAGG
WWWJUSTOUT.COM
QDoc returns with vivid, vital
portraits of lives lived queer
by Gary Morris
These may be the most tumultuous, and
confusing, times yet for queer folk, with the
stakes increasingly high as we push ever
harder for our rights. Supposedly progres
sive California voters, manipulated by the
Mormon and Catholic churches, overturn
, marriage equality, while in supposedly
backward Iowa, it’s approved. Some gay teens
succumb to social, religious and family ho
mophobia by killing themselves; others are
happily slamming the closet door shut and
taking to the streets. Nothing is predictable
these days; even supposed allies, like President
Obama, ask for our patience, but really our
silence, in pursuing full equality.
This year’s QDoc festival, programmed by
Russ Gage (operations director for the San
Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film
Festival) and David Weissman (director of
the 2002 documentary The Cockettes), captures
some of this chaos in a kind of mosaic portrait
o f queer culture, past and present. As the only
film festival in the United States devoted
•'exclusively to queer documentaries, QDoc is
uniquely positioned to draw this picture. Over
the course of a long weekend (Thursday, June
3-Sunday, June 6) and a dozen features and
Forever s Gonno Stört ToniQ^t
shorts, the fourth annual fest surveys the po
litical scene (8: The Mormon Proposition, Other
Nature) and the sometimes unlikely heroes
(Out in the Silence, Topp Twins, Sylvester) who
show how much richer society would be in a
world where all of us could be ourselves.
Being oneself is the lesson of the two open
ing night entries, screened, along with the rest
of the program, at the Clinton Street Theater.
Forever’s Gonna Start Tonight offers a simpatico
portrait of Vicki Marlane, a drag artiste who, at
72, continues to perform at Aunt Charlie’s in
San Francisco’s rough-and-tumble Tenderloin
District. That’s an appropriate venue for some
one like Marlane, who went from Minnesota
farm boy to roller-skating tranny to highway
whore to prison inmate and on to an illustri
ous career as the tranny “Toast of the Town”
in early 70s San Francisco. There’s plenty of
performance footage here, as well as helpful
beauty tips for the cosmetically challenged, but
some of the most fascinating moments come
from Marlane’s long stretch as a “Hoochie-
Koochie” dancer in a Minnesota carnival,
where she rubbed elbows with such notables
as “Alligator Woman” and “The Girl in the Iron
Lung.” Her choice in boyfriends wasn’t always
the best—she had a penchant for rough trade,
ex-cons and “straight” married men—but she
survived emotional abuse, drug use and deser
tion and wears the scars with pride.
Second on the bill is Get Happy, a brief
but charming sketch of Emmy Award-win
ning makeup artist and fashion designer Mark
Payne. Payne’s childhood backstory is, in some
ways, more intriguing than his adult success. At
the preposterously early age of 11, he perfected
drag mimicry, doing dead-on impersonations
of Liza Minnelli, Shirley MacLaine, even Di- •
ana Ross in blackface. A compassionate mother
Even when they’re being themselves,
Topp Twins Jools and Linda are real char
acters. Below, a few from their stable of
wild-and-crazy alter egos.
• Belle and Belle Gingham, the Topps’
oldest creations. Belle was born in a hay
barn, her sister a few minutes later, be
tween the barn and the cowshed. Belle
has been a champion spoon player in
New Zealand for 21 years. As for which
Belle is which, we have no idea.
• Camp M other and Camp Leader, the
folks behind the Happy Valley Camp
ing Ground. Camp M other’s signature
style includes a pink velour jumpsuit,
turban and handbag. Camp Leader
prefers jelly sandals.
• Ken and Ken, the country “bloke” and
the city folk. O ne’s a sheep farmer (in
love with Camp Mother), the other a
T V sportscaster. Hey, it could happen.
• Raylene and Brenda, two lowbrow gals
with hair as high as their heels (natch).
Ever searching for a “hunk o f spunk,”
they dream of their own hair salon,
Cuts for Sluts.
• Prue and Dilly Ramsbottom, really un
real housewives with old money, a new
litter o f purebred puppies and an always
freshened-up cocktail.
Jools and Linda w ill be in attendance fo r
the Sunday, June 6 film screening, and w ill
also perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 8 at
the Mission Theater (1624 N W Glisan St.).
Tickets fo r the June 8 show are $12 advance
via Ticketmaster, $15 at the door.
—Amanda Schurr
and grandmother, who recognized his particu
lar genius and encouraged him with money,
materials and love, abetted Payne. Nothing
could stop him— a friend recalls that even after
he set the house on fire during one o f his drag
recitals, they moved to the garage and Payne
began doing a Minnelli routine. To the young
performer, every object was a potential stage,
though as his mother says with mock regret,
“The thing with the hood of cars is they don’t
withstand high heels too well.” Every theatrical
queen deserves a mother like this.
Friday’s double bill begins with 8: The Mormon
Proposition, directed by Reed Cowan and Ste-
Voted Willamette Week’s TOP 100
I
------- r
V t/ Y\0
4 6 3 5 SB Hawthorne Blvd
5 0 3 .9 5 4 .3 1 3 3
w w w .b e lly re s ta u ra n t.c o m
NE Fremont & MLK I PDX • 503.249.9764
now serving lunch 11 am - 2 pm
happy hour. Sunday brunch. dinner
3 5 2 4 N. Mississippi Ave
5 0 3 .4 6 7 .4 1 4 9
p o r q u e n o ta c o s .c o m
8338 N . L o m B a R Ò
503.247.1066