Drag Race S9E8: Roasting is Fundamental

by Chris Feil

Last week, RuPaul’s Drag Race gave us a stellar episode thanks to a nearly across the board strong performance by all of the queens. This week, we got an equally great episode but for the opposite reason.

The queens are challenged with the one-two punch of the Reading is Fundamental mini-challenge and a revival of season five’s RuPaul Roast (and six's photocopy Queens of Comedy). There may not have been a Laganja-level meltdown this time, but it has its share of Roxxxy flatline drama. Until know, you may have missed that we are short a comedy queen this season - though many of them can bring the funny when needed. [extreme Patti LuPone voice] They are wonderful, you know, performers for what they do, but they are not stand-up comedians...

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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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