RuPaul's Drag Race S9E11 - Category Is: GAY

by Chris Feil

Happy Pride Month, everyone!! This week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race was perfectly timed to the start of Pride season with gay extravaganza ball on the runway, and lots of streamers, glitter, and puppets! Andie MacDowell giving us Magic Mike XXL white wine realness!

But like Alexis Michelle’s bowl of Beautiful Turquoise Embellishments, this episode became a miss with lots of unfulfilled promise, particularly on the runway. Some queens had a significant misstep on the runway and others lacked the wow factor we expect from a top five competitor. Meanwhile in the workroom, we got a lot of dismissive interview quotes to amp up an air of contentiousness that wasn’t really there. Less an extravaganza than a passable week. Some of that manufactured cattiness probably comes down to a group of queens that genuinely get along, and the eased frustrations in the room now that Nina Bo’nina Brown was sent packing.

Click to read more ...

RuPaul's Drag Race S9E10 - The New Ru Crew

by Chris Feil

After last week’s shocking fall from grace and resulting elimination for Valentina sent the RuPaul’s Drag Race fandom into such a tizzy, it’s a relief that this episode was largely all love.

For all the quibbles and bitching among fans of the show and the drama that inevitably comes between contestants, the show always comes from the heart. From the cruelest villains to the most resilient champions to the sad queen learning to accept herself, Drag Race loves every competitor who crosses its gates. Its a major reason why it elicits such a passionate response.

But Drag Race’s love extends far beyond the competition, and this episode showed us a little bit more of Mama Ru’s extended family. Past queens have mentioned in interviews how tight knit they become with the crew as well as their sister queens, but this challenge allowed that affection to be featured onscreen: for this season’s makeover challenge, the queens had to dragify a crew member.

Click to read more ...

RuPaul's Drag Race S9E9 - Behind the Mask

by Chris Feil

Have you caught your breath since this week’s dramatic elimination on RuPaul’s Drag Race? Should I get you an oxygen mask?

Drag Race has always been a show that delights in shocking us. This episode was so briskly paced, it was positively giddy to get past the challenge and workroom so that it could bring the drama. This week, the queens teamed up to create their own sitcom pilots (more a commercial for one, really). The challenge is perfectly timed with the upfronts over the past week, but Mama Ru dealt us one vicious cancellation.

Click to read more ...

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...

Click to read more ...

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.

Click to read more ...