STONEWALL ( American )

"See; there's as many Stonewall stories as there's gay queens in New York; and that's a shitload of stories, baby!" 'La Miranda' leads us into her story, and continues throughout with a barrage of caustic and snappy one-liners. After some actual footage of the infamous Stonewall riots, we backtrack to a dramatized version of events. Matty-Dean is fresh chicken: right off a Greyhound from the deep south, and finger-lickin' good. Straight away he meets a gay rights campaigner, but it's when he falls in with 'La Miranda' and her chums that he really lands in the thick of it. Between crooked cops and the Mob, his hopes of a more tolerant lifestyle in New York are immediately shattered. However, you can never underestimate the resilience of a bunch of drag-queens, nor their ability to lip-sinc under pressure: even through the campest of sixties girl-group numbers! It may be a fictionalised account, but the gritty portrayal of these sarcastic queens: their frocks and timely musical numbers, make the period come alive. I can't wait for the stage production!