In light of Pride Month, it's great to acknowledge one of the biggest drag queen stars in cinema history, Harris Glenn Milstead/Divine. Starting from the bottom as a growing singer and drag performer in their teens and late twenties to then becoming a big star/collaborator with indie filmmaker John Waters, Divine's incredible albeit limited career proved to be a huge deal for both the LGBTQ community and the underground cult film base. With a legacy as incredible as theirs, it was only natural that a documentary on them would be created, and low and behold, one was made in 2013 called I Am Divine.
As indicated, the documentary summarizes Glenn Milstead's entire life story from the people who knew him, such as his caring albeit concerned mother Frances, his childhood friends, colleagues, peers and even business agent. Being an introverted queer kid from Baltimore with a weight disorder, his love of performance and out there comedies thoroughly inspired the young lad to pursue their dreams of doing outrageous acts as a draq queen with the nickname Divine. From then on, there were controversial cult classics like Pink Flamingos and Polyester, to Divine's drag and singer career, to their relationship with friends and family, to Glenn and Waters' breakout into the mainstream towards Milstead's unfortunate death. While the film obviously doesn't go into depth on every single event in his life, it manages to explore into many different layers of Glenn from all the different people who were interviewed, including John Waters himself. His view on Glenn is somewhat brotherly, as he was so close to Divine as both a star and a person that once can imagine how much of a toll the loss put on him.
Granted, the film might not win the hearts over everyone as it is made for somewhat of a niche audience. Given that the film goes a lot into the career of schlock cinema and Milstead's career, a newcomer might be well introduced to the film but might be lost on the specific references to all the different content Divine was in. Then again, it does have the length covered well at just 90 minutes, so it doesn't overstay its welcome in the long run. Besides, there is just enough affection given to not only Divine as a human being, but also to the importance of where fame can lead someone. As sad as it is to say, it can happen more often than not that a famous figure in show biz will be type casted for certain roles based on their presence alone, and Milstead stood the test of that from their early films to breaking out as a drag model. It's easy for fans of Divine to look up to Milstead as an inspiration for doing what they love and risking it all for the sake of art, yet the experience itself becomes the ultimate test for how much they can handle such a status.
In the end, caring documentaries like I Am Divine prove that it is possible to bring growth and warmth in a specific audience and inspire them long after the icon has passed on. To see just how far drag performers and queer people have come in being accepted in America, let alone worldwide, it shows that the path people like Milstead, Waters and more took was beyond worth it. Even though this documentary isn't too recent, it's definitely worth a recommendation for the month of embracing LGBTQ rights. Be it an overweight drag performer or otherwise, anyone can be a positive role model.
As indicated, the documentary summarizes Glenn Milstead's entire life story from the people who knew him, such as his caring albeit concerned mother Frances, his childhood friends, colleagues, peers and even business agent. Being an introverted queer kid from Baltimore with a weight disorder, his love of performance and out there comedies thoroughly inspired the young lad to pursue their dreams of doing outrageous acts as a draq queen with the nickname Divine. From then on, there were controversial cult classics like Pink Flamingos and Polyester, to Divine's drag and singer career, to their relationship with friends and family, to Glenn and Waters' breakout into the mainstream towards Milstead's unfortunate death. While the film obviously doesn't go into depth on every single event in his life, it manages to explore into many different layers of Glenn from all the different people who were interviewed, including John Waters himself. His view on Glenn is somewhat brotherly, as he was so close to Divine as both a star and a person that once can imagine how much of a toll the loss put on him.
Granted, the film might not win the hearts over everyone as it is made for somewhat of a niche audience. Given that the film goes a lot into the career of schlock cinema and Milstead's career, a newcomer might be well introduced to the film but might be lost on the specific references to all the different content Divine was in. Then again, it does have the length covered well at just 90 minutes, so it doesn't overstay its welcome in the long run. Besides, there is just enough affection given to not only Divine as a human being, but also to the importance of where fame can lead someone. As sad as it is to say, it can happen more often than not that a famous figure in show biz will be type casted for certain roles based on their presence alone, and Milstead stood the test of that from their early films to breaking out as a drag model. It's easy for fans of Divine to look up to Milstead as an inspiration for doing what they love and risking it all for the sake of art, yet the experience itself becomes the ultimate test for how much they can handle such a status.
In the end, caring documentaries like I Am Divine prove that it is possible to bring growth and warmth in a specific audience and inspire them long after the icon has passed on. To see just how far drag performers and queer people have come in being accepted in America, let alone worldwide, it shows that the path people like Milstead, Waters and more took was beyond worth it. Even though this documentary isn't too recent, it's definitely worth a recommendation for the month of embracing LGBTQ rights. Be it an overweight drag performer or otherwise, anyone can be a positive role model.