RuPaul's Drag Race S9E5 - Kardashi-lame

by Chris Feil

This season of RuPaul’s Drag Race has a celebrity problem.

I had complained about the show taking attention away from the queens and making the show all about famous faces at the beginning of the season. However, this episode was the most egregious offender for being starstruck by celebrities who weren’t even there! The main challenge was a mini-musical on the Kardashian family, an overlong performance that spread our time with the girls much too thin. But let’s not jump ahead for the sake of complaining!

We actually did get what has been missing from the season so far: a mini-challenge and the Pit Crew! The gals got into quick drag for a swimsuit selfie with the boys (including new Crew members Jared and Yadir), with the girls being shockingly tame. Alexis took a much needed win, but I’d have given the Instagram like to gorgeous goofball Valentina for insisting Ru announce her as Miss Venezuela. Yes, my frost for her is thawing.

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Beauty Break: The Time 100

Chris here to start your weekend with some star gazing. Time Magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people is here! While there's the usual assortment of world leaders, innovators, and executives (not to mentions some unsavories), it's the magic makers of the entertainment sort that catch our hearts here at The Film Experience. That ebullient Viola Davis cover to your left is nothing if not a factory for happiness.

The assembled talent and wavemakers run the gamut from Ava DuVernay to Sarah Paulson to Riz Ahmed to Constance Wu, the kind of future Hollywood we actually want to see. But the real fun of the lineup is the profiles written by other famous types about the honorees - Naomi Campbell paying tribute to RuPaul? Your icon wishes! Take a look at the photo set and tell us your favorites in the comments!

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Drag Race S9E3: Drag Princesses and Their Sidekicks

by Chris Feil

Try to imagine these characters in a Disney princess movie!After lots of celeb gazing and underwhelming rhythms in the first two episodes, Season 3 of RuPaul’s Drag Race has finally found its sweet spot! This week’s episode was a return to form, hilarious and heartfelt while letting us get to know the queens. The queens were charged to create their own princess (sewing challenge!) and a quirky sidekick to tell her story. Get your fairytale life!

The results were delightful enough that we’ll forgive the continued lack of a mini-challenge - and did the Pit Crew get kidnapped this season??

Right out of the gate, Trinity Taylor is gunning for the win, throwing excess dust all over Valentina’s win last week in the process. Trinity has quickly emerged as the season’s bitch, though funnier and more lovable than we have seen from past season villains, in my perspective. How long will we be waiting until that potential rivalry with Eureka O’Hara to rise again, I wonder? Regardless, Trinity’s profile is rising in this lineup.

Speaking of Valentina...

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RuPaul's Drag Race S9E2 - Bring It On, Bitches!

by Chris Feil

Brr it’s cold in here!
There must be some Toros Clovers drag queens
In the atmosphere!

Sorry, what with this week’s cheerleader-themed episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, I’ve got Bring It On on the brain! Last week’s premiere was Gaga-fied (and queen-lite) but this week was back to basics: a group challenge, runway, backstories, shade, and elimination. Honestly these first two episodes would be way more satisfying as one supersized episode - even this one follows the show's successful formula, but we're going to need a major uptick in energy as the season progresses.

Oh right, and that little cliffhanger of a returning queen...

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RuPaul's Drag Race S9E1 - Oh My Gaga!

by Chris Feil

It’s here, children! We’ve finally arrived at the premiere of season nine of RuPaul’s Drag Race! Not that we should complain about waiting considering we got a bonus All Stars season last fall, but when you’re talking the most joyous show on television enough is never enough.

So it doesn’t please me to say that this season premiere left me begging for more in the worst kind of way. While the episode starts out with the usual high energy and first day of school nerves as we meet every queen entering the workroom, we don’t get much of the queens beyond this introduction. The energy flatlines right around the second commercial break when much hyped presence of guest judge Lady Gaga establishes the challenge: a non-elimination Miss Charisma Uniqueness Nerve & Talent Pageant, each queen presenting a look representing their home city and a Gaga recreation.

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