Flawless (1999)

I'm not really sure what drew me to this film initially. I don't really have any interest in drag queens, nor has Joel Schumacher done enough to warrant my undivided attention. I can only assume I got this film based on the strength of the cast. Now I know that Robert DeNiro hasn't made a truly great film in a very long time, however Phillip Seymour Hoffman has, and not only that, but around the time of this movie, he was making films like Happiness and Magnolia (two wonderful performances in two wonderful films), so I figure it must have been that.

Now Joel Schumacher is a directer I tend to avoid. This is a completely unjustified move based pretty much on the fact that when I was first really getting deeply into film I knew Joel Schumacher for two things, for putting nipples on the batsuit, and for Phantom of the Opera, two things which I think are basically unforgivable. however I must recognise that this is the man who made St Elmos Fire and The Lost Boys, so he's not all bad, yet in my mind I feel a distance is needed. Yet Flawless kind of won me over by the end. The plot is very basic, it's your traditional odd couple arrangement, with a bigoted ex cop living next door to a drag queen, whose lifestyle he seems to find offensive. After suffering a Stroke, DeNiro must take up singing lessons with Hoffman's Drag Queen in order to help him regain his speech. There are a couple of side stories involving love interests, a Flawless competition (which seems to be like a beauty pageant for the Gay Drag Queen community), and a slightly more integral criminal element which serves to ultimately bring the two closer together. 

But whilst the story is pretty basic, the real winning factor is the two leads. I don't have a great deal of experience with Stroke Victims, but I have seen Edwyn Collins live a couple of times since his strokes, and many of the mannerisms that were on display with his performances, DeNiro put across pretty much spot on, whether it's the way he talks, or the way he moves around, he truly encapsulated the little I understood about Stroke Victims. Again, my experience of Drag Queens is limited, but Philip Seymour Hoffman is superb in the role and left me utterly convinced of his role.

This isn't a film that I would ever go back to I don't think, but to see a relatively late on DeNiro on his A game again was a treat, and it reminded me of a time when Philip Seymour Hoffman took more risks with the roles he would play... He's still a fantastic actor, I just wish he'd go back to playing a few more varied or risky roles once in a while.