Peaches Christ, hailing from the more-foggy-than-London shores of San Francisco, California, is a wonder for these eyes who hath seen the likes of such divine members of deity-like clans as Morrissey, Lily Tomlin, Harvey Fierstein, and even Queen Cyndi Lauper. Ms Christ has a stage presence that gives a flavored hint of drudgery and glamor all in one clashing array of sensual blitz, and to share the stage with such Seattle knowns as my latest local-favourite Sylvia O’Stayformore and the trash-smash Jackie Hell, it was a wonderful opening pageantry that would turn unfold to be a dazzling evening at the movies, too!
Just at the beginning of their tour, Peaches Christ and crew are on a mission to jump-start the hopefully long lasting exposure of a new film Ms Christ has a few other attached credits to, titled “All About Evil”, written and directed by Joshua Grannell, (aka, Peaches Christ) and starring B-Queen Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Dekker, Jack Donner, Noah Segan, Jade and Nikita Ramsey, and featuring two sensationally welcome performances from “Elvira” herself, Cassandra Peterson, and the always eclectic John Waters dame, Mink Stole. This review is coming to over a week after the Seattle stop of this tour at the Egyptian Cinema up on Capitol Hill, but for anyone out in the cyber space world bopping around the New York area this weekend, do pay close attention to the links at the end of my scribblings, as She’s coming your way this weekend!
What was in store? The experience as a whole was frightfully gore-riffic at first, with a goulish warning from a one-tit delight… the space was suddenly full of Midnight Movie favourites, including a sexy 1950’s James Dean meets the Wolf-Man, a pretty Goth Girl, and perhaps as means to foreshadow what we were about to experience, two identical usherettes with sinister glares. Peaches Christ regaled the audience in song, special guest Sylvia O’Stayformore nearly stole the show (okay, she totally did, but perhaps I’m biased) with a brilliant display to iron-lunged Barbra Streisand’s “Songbird”, and we were treated with a gore-i-fied costume contest (judged by Jackie Hell) which sported some fantastic looks from local personalities including the always lovely Stella Rose Saint Clair. Prizes included free tattoos and piercings! (yup – the real deal!)
The film! “All About Evil”‘s plot is simple: a young woman (Natasha Lyonne) urinates on a microphone stand and is buzzed into freak-hood at a young age, later taking over the family’s movie house after the death of her much beloved father. Following a freak incident with her awfully bitchy mother, she finds herself wrapped up in the glory and glamor of making gory and grotesque snuff films and passing them off as independent shorts with such titles as “Tale of Two Severed Titties”. A dedicated following develops, including regular appearances at her cinema by Peaches Christ herself, and a young man named Steven (Thomas Dekker), who wises up after a series of hysterical events. Joshua Grannell’s writing is crisp, richly choosing an absurdest route that was matched by his polished direction, and the appropriately over-the-top performances. Natasha Lyonne has proven herself a joy time and time again, especially in films that are a bit more cynical and far from serious. She has the makings to take Hollywood by the balls and kick ass in blockbuster films, but more often than not can find her best work milking the roles written on the edge. Her work here carries elements of the bitch-queen she let exude with pristine eloquence in Charles Busch’s “Die, Mommie, Die!” back in 2003, and managed to punch the laughs to the point of my gut hurting: The slightest flinch of her cheek, or twitch of the eye was expertly timed out resulting in another A+ to her name. Other stand out performances were delivered by veteran, Jack Donner as Lyonne’s cinematographer, Cassandra Peterson as Dekker’s mellow mother who just wants to understand her son’s obsession with blood guts ‘n’ gore, and of course, Mink Stole… who, if I may take a moment to point out, is given the chance to do one of the many things she does best: blurt out obscenities from that cute, maternal looking face. In the truest of “Betty White” fashions, Mink Stole looks wholesome here… like many of her later appearances in John Waters films, she is sensibly dressed, and cute as a button. It takes awhile to see her wretched and haggard, and covered in blood, ripping her mouth open (you’ll see what I mean…), and calling someone a “dirty mother…” is one of the few, royal pleasures in my movie-going life. Honestly. God bless, or Peaches Christ bless Mink Stole.
There is much to love about this film. The nature is absurdest at it’s best… a medium not always appreciated by modern audiences. I can only hope to see this fun, tightly woven, wonderfully produced film receive the exposure it deserves in the near future. With good graces, Landmark will take note and we’ll be seeing it again at the Harvard Exit, or Egyptian very soon. Keep your eyes and ears open (sew them open, if you have to…), and get set for a grand time.
Both Jackie Hell and Sylvia O’Stayformore appear regularly at local events and shows here in Seattle, and both have fun Facebook pages to check out.
Ms O’Stayformore is the producer of Bacon Strip, which can be checked out at the Re-Bar every month: next show on August 7th at 10 p.m. $8 cover in costume/$10 otherwise. 21+, located at 1114 Howell St., Seattle, WA… www.rebarseattle.com
Also, for more information about Peaches Christ and the “All About Evil” tour go here!
Photos: Claire Johnson from Peaches Christ Facebook page.
– Aiden Karamanyan
About the Author: Michael Strangeways
