The DVD:
Evie is a washed up actress whose present life consists of a daily, almost hourly battle to ward off the sagging specter of aging. Her best friend/confidant/sounding board/whipping 'girl'/maid is Coco, who seems stuck to the stunted starlet in a quasi-camaraderie, born more out of Evie's one time fame. Into their life walks new "roommate" Varla, a big girl with even bigger dreams. She wants to be a star and figures that coming to Hollywood in a state of arrested talent is a good way to start. Evie is instantly jealous of the new, young yahoo. She is also wary since Varla is the daughter of the late Marla Merman, Evie's "competition" from the old pseudo superstar days. And it's quite possible that Evie played a part in Marla's untimely demise. As Varla learns the ropes about Tinsel Town, Evie gets her envy on and Coco prays for a child to fill up the void in her lonely life. But events take a strange turn when Stevie, Evie's son falls for the fresh faced new girl. Hoping to compete with a next generation of rivalry, Evie stages a comeback special. But it ends up being an infomercial – it's all she can afford. Does Evie get back on top? Or are her dreams about to be as dashed as the lives she's crippled in her quest for some semblance of fame?

Girls Will Be Girls is a scream, both as a viewing experience and a slice of homosexual sensibility. This is Drucilla, Drama Queen of the Desert as re-imagined by Paul Rudnick and performed by Harvey Fierstein. Call it catty. Consider it camp. Or maybe associate its quirky queerness with that old standby, the satirical lampooning. But no one will likely consider this a restrained character study laced with minor comedic moments. This is a movie with a brash, bold view of its retro-kitsch world and can't wait for the entire planet to hear about it. So everything is over-amplified and hyper-exaggerated to seal the squeal with delirious delight. Now, when something is over the top and pandering to a certain predilection, it's hard to get everyone on the same rainbow bandwagon. Many will find its wicked, acerbic takes on femininity and fame as cruel and crass. After all, when you pepper your picture with all manner of abortion and rape jokes, there are precious few sensibilities that will bust a gut. Others will see these mostly miserable wenches - as played by wounded men - and wonder what all the hubbub is about. But if you can tune into the mood being sold here and play along with the pithy, pain-in-the–ass perversity, you will love Girls Will Be Girls. It's like finding a long lost, American version of Absolutely Fabulous as crafted by some very pissed off performance artists. It's drowning in liquor-fueled foolishness and heady with homo-hilarity.

Some of the reasons why Girls Will Be Girls works so well is that it is never afraid to explore any and all realms for a laugh. Using an "any taste is good taste" ideal, they pour on the drug and drink humor, highlight the bitchy nature of babes in enmity and gets the most out of its 70s revival style. Fans of films like Valley of the/Beyond the Valley of the Dolls will see the shimmering similarities and relish the subject being ridiculed. Others may be offended by some of the targets teased, but the ribbing is always good-natured and very funny. As this is a movie featuring professional female impersonators, one expects a level of excellence. But no one could have imagined that a little, low budget movie would contain such hammy, hilarious and honor worthy performances. The drag is played completely straight here, which may in and of itself be a comedic contradiction in terms. There is never a hint at a 'him' under the Halston and the female facade is religiously maintained to avoid some stupid sex joke. We are supposed to believe Evie, Coco and Varla are archetypal ladies locked in a lewd, rude never-ending catfight over men, menses and moxie. And said conceit is carried out exceptionally well. Again, all the actors here must be praised for how easily and eerily they recreate that certain Tinsel Town tale of tarts, that desperately-once-was woman or that fresh faced fool who clash over something that, if they finally got it, they'd be seeking out a shrink to cure them of it pronto. The story in Girls Will Be Girls is not as important as who these grand dames are, at the core. And what we discover is that they are funny, but flawed and fueled by foolish feminine whiles.

If the film has a failing, it is that the whole notion of the Douglas Sirk/ King Vidor Hollywood behind the scenes mega-melodrama is never fully explored. Again, a linear plot is just not that important here. We get hints and half-baked attempts at recreating the classics, but this is more community college than clear-cut clever farcicality. Also, there should have been more of Varla's casting couch calamites, as well as samples of her other acting auditions. While her first prodding from a "producer" with hygiene issues is very wacky (especially when this clearly foreign fellow raises his arms and 'stink' impressions come pouring out of pit country) there is too sudden a leap from her status as a nobody to almost household name. The moments from Evie's big movie, Asteroid, are absolutely priceless, but we could have used more: more of her old shtick; More examples of her failed career; Maybe a cameo or two to from other faded names to bolster her desperate profile. About the only completely realized character story belongs to Coco, an uptight wasp Hell-beast with hair that matches her sense of adventure. Saddled with a history inundated with hardship and heartache, she is both fragile and frightfully droll, sometimes simultaneously. On the opposite side of script town is Evie's son, a small-dicked dofus named Stevie played by Ron Mathews. While chunky like a monkey, he is not developed enough as a persona. When compared to the fractured femmes around him, he is a drab, dry little hunk of man meat only around to provide some pectoral and abdominal ogling.

Still, it's the three main Ms.'s that make this movie work so well. Given brilliant bits of brash bitterness by writer/director Richard Day (of The Larry Sanders Show and Mad About You), the masquerading men instantly become cult figures right before your eyes. Jeffery Roberson is so good as Varla that you never once think of him as anything other than corn(over)fed and ready for love. Clinton Leupp has been honing Coco for years, and he obviously understands this troubled trinket very well. A combination of socialite and psychopath, she is a smoldering time bomb waiting to explode. In perhaps the most difficult role, Jack Plotnick must save Evie from being a complete and utterly hateable hag. The fact that he manages to find a core of decency within this walking cadaver of cruelty says a great deal about his acting skills. The astounding way in which these dudes sell the drag dimension is exhilarating. Indeed, the movie gets a lot of its laughs just trading on the energy and the enigmas created by the cast. But the script is not without its charms. The emotional, evocative ending in which symbolism and metaphors meet for dinner and drinks is very clever and outlandishly corrupt. The juxtaposition between the present and the past, handled vividly and pitch perfect, shows that beneath Evie's tough broad exterior lies half a heart hoping for forgiveness – or at least another shot at a daytime soap. Director Day manages to control all this campy chaos by never once showing his inexpensive tricks. From fantastic set design to exceptional compositions and framing, this is a big budget movie made on a craft services scale.

But the most important aspect of Girls Will Be Girls is not some "Hooray for Homosexuality" or "Let's Make Fun of Females" ideal. No, the best reason to see this silly symphony is because it is so incredibly funny. Girls Will Be Girls delivers in the daffy department because it is spectacularly acted and expertly executed. Not everyone could sell this spiel, but Plotnick, Leupp and Roberson do a dynamite job. The attention to detail, the little moments of inspired insanity, add up to one frightfully fresh film. Not everyone will sink their teeth into this toothsome take on faded stardom and sour grapes. And this is mostly a silly, superficial spoof of a genre ripe for a deeper ripping apart. Comedy is indeed very subjective, but Girls Will Be Girls delivers more laughs in a less forced manner than most movie hilarity hounding the Cineplex. It never preaches or pretends to teach. It just wants you to snicker at people who wouldn't be caught dead knowing that others chuckle at, not with them.

The Video:
MGM releases Girls Will Be Girls in a spectacular 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that is just stunning. As bright and sassy as a pop art poem and so vibrant and crisp you can actually feel the fake fur and polyester seeping from the screen, this is a great image. The blacks are deep and the colors radiate hue-based happiness. A homemade friend film doesn't deserve to look as good as this print does.

The Audio:
A funny thing happened to the film on the way back from Sundance (where it premiered). Some fans of the foolishness offered to fix some obvious sound issues the movie had. And it just so happened that these aficionados worked for one George Lucas over at the Skywalker Ranch. So this tiny independent flick got a full-blown Star Wars aural makeover and the results are astounding. The Dolby Digital 5.1 is shocking in its sonic clarity and there are even some moments of atmospheric immersion. Indeed, the sound is another checkmark in the professional feel for this made on the cheap labor of love.

Extras:
Beginning with the clever idea of having the cast appear and comment on the menu selections on each screen, Girls Will Be Girls offers a lot of enjoyable bonus material. First up is the commentary track, featuring Day and his cast of lovelies. These guys/gals really chat up the track, making it a point to show where they messed up or where the set design was a little imperfect. They endlessly needle each other and some of the quips are hilarious. But there is also an undercurrent of sadness as each of the "gals" laments imperfections in their looks and wardrobe. Still, it's a witty, wonderful facet with a lot of detail about the bargain basement budget and cinematic cheats used to give the movie some scope. Equally fun is the montage of deleted scenes. Most of this material feels like missed opportunities, but you also get the impression that timing, and not the tone or timber of these bits, was the reason for their removal. The sole behind the scene featurette is a fun look at face transformation called Girls Will Be Girls: Becoming the Girl. This is a step-by-step walkthrough with the movie's makeup artist about how he approached the drag for each actor. It's massive in its detail and entertaining in its explanation of the subject. Along with the trailer and those hilarious interactive menus (frankly, some of the jokes here are as good, or better, than one's in the film) the DVD package is replete with contextual goodness.

Final Thoughts:
Sometimes, you just have to stop thinking so hard and just go with a comedy. You don't need to understand all the situational dynamics or fret over every factor involved in the story to have a good time. Occasionally, a wonderful set of salacious characters, venom and vice dripping from every pore in witty repartee is all that is needed for a honking good time. Girls Will Be Girls delivers such a frightfully flaming free for all of fun and frolic. Sure, most of the characters are evil and unclean in their desire to ruin the lives of others (mostly, their friends) for the sake of their own needs. And there are times when the settings let the ladies down, not giving them enough room to really swing from the rafters. Yes, Girls Will Be Girls could have been ruder, cruder and more wicked than a witch. But the magnificent performances and unbridled brilliance of much of the movie more than make up for any shortcomings. If you want a perfect example of gay humor in all its irreverent, referential revelry, then draw out your own inner diva and dive right into Girls Will Be Girls. But be ready to defend yourself. These gals put up quite a catfight.

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