''Starrbooty'' is a 2007 film written by and starring drag queen

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series '' RuPaul's Drag Race ...

. It is the fourth in a series of films starring the title character, a top secret government agent and supermodel. The original three films (collectively titled RuPaul Is: Starbooty!) were all made in the mid-1980s by RuPaul and his friends with a budget of around $100, and were sold out of shopping carts around gay bars in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

Plot

The film's plot combines several elements from these original films. Starrbooty (RuPaul) is in the middle of a major karate fight when she receives a phone call informing her that her adopted niece Cornisha has been kidnapped. With the help of fellow crime fighter Agent Page Turner, Starrbooty learns that her nemesis Annaka Manners is using her billion-dollar cosmetics company as a front for kidnapping prostitutes and selling their organs on the black market. Starrbooty also discovers that Annaka is actually her long-lost sister, making Cornisha Annaka's daughter. Page and Starrbooty go undercover as prostitutes (as Pepper and Cupcake, respectively) and in order to be convincing enough to infiltrate Annaka's inner sanctum, they go "all the way" (this includes numerous sex scenes with explicit male nudity, generally designed for laughs). When Starrbooty finally confronts Annaka she discovers that Cornisha was in on the plot all along, and has become Annaka's lover. Informing them that they are actually mother and daughter, Starrbooty reveals Annaka's plans to double-cross Cornisha by selling her

clitoris The clitoris ( or ) is a female sex organ present in mammals, ostriches and a limited number of other animals. In humans, the visible portion – the glans – is at the front junction of the labia minora (inner lips), above the o ...

to a wealthy socialite (in one of the more memorable jokes, Annaka is also planning to sell Starrbooty's long legs to a "famous female rapper," quipping, "I guess they won't call her 'Lil' anymore!"). A final showdown between Starrbooty and Annaka leaves Annaka dead, and they are able to salvage Cornisha's genitals by taking Annaka's (a perfect biological match). Thus everyone who deserves to lives happily ever after.

Cast

as Starrbooty/Cupcake * Lahoma Van Zandt as Page Turner/Pepper *

Candis Cayne Candis Cayne (born August 29, 1971) is an American actress and performance artist. Cayne performed in New York City nightclubs in drag since the 1990s, and came out as transgender in 1996; Cayne came to national attention in 2007 for portraying ...

as Annaka Manners * Gus Mattox as Max * Jazmine Jimenez as Cornisha * Dee Finley as Diesel Fortensky * Corey Corey as Junebug * Michael Lucas as Alexi Popov * Owen Hawk as Dirty Talker * Richard Lynch as Ol' Smeller *

Lady Bunny Lady Bunny, originally known as "Bunny Hickory Dickory Dock" (born Jon Ingle, August 13, 1962), is an American drag queen, nightclub DJ, actor, comedian, and event organizer. She is the founder of the annual Wigstock event, as well as an occasi ...

as Ms. Tasha * Laura Forbes as Mrs. McGillicutty * Ari Gold as Tyrone Cohen * Tim Wallis as T'Misha * Kayla Aguirre as Kim She * Sweetie as Ol' Lestra *

Kayvon Zand Kayvon Zand is an American nightlife personality and musician based in NYC. They are most known for eccentric live performances and parties, as well as their established personal style featuring John Sex hair and Elvis Presley jump suits. They are ...

as Suicide bomber * Andre Robert Lee as Barley * Joe Ovbey as Kidnap caller * Ray Stewart as Doctor * Joelle Hawkes (Pezely) as Nurse * Wilmer Fernandez as Manner man * Dale Kan as Receptionist

Production

During production the film's working title was ''Starrbooty: Reloaded'', but when screened at film festivals it was simply called ''Starrbooty''. The DVD title is ''Starrbooty: The Movie''. The film is an homage to

blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president ...

and

sexploitation A sexploitation film (or sex-exploitation film) is a class of independently produced, low-budget feature film that is generally associated with the 1960s and early 1970s, and that serves largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit se ...

films of the 1960s and 1970s. In an article for ''EdgePhiladelphia'', RuPaul stated, "The goal was to make an exploitation film that was part

Russ Meyer Russell Albion Meyer (March 21, 1922 – September 18, 2004) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. He is known primarily for writing and directing a series of successful sexploitation films that fe ...

, part

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

and part '' The Naked Gun''."EdgePhiladelphia
/ref> The film utilizes things like obvious vocal overdubbing, grainy footage and dramatic cuts to mimic these low-budget films of the past.

Screenings and reception

The film began screening at various gay and lesbian film festivals in July 2007. RuPaul presented the film in person at each screening, often with other cast members. Erik Schut of ''The Philly Film Guide'' said "''Starrbooty'' is a fried, dyed and laid to the side-splitting kick-ass good time!" It was the only film at the Philadelphia Gay & Lesbian Film Festival to be sold out at both screenings. The movie's supporting cast is primarily made up of pornographic film stars, both male and female. It is unrated, and though there is no explicit sex, it does feature several of its male stars frontally nude and erect, and at one point RuPaul is depicted graphically fondling a man's penis. Though this is primarily played for comic effect, it is a marked departure from the "Drag Queen Next Door" image RuPaul cultivated during the height of her fame. The film ends with an on-screen dedication to

Jerry Falwell Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelist, and conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia. He founded L ...

. The DVD was released October 30, 2007. There was no distribution deal reached, and thus it was released by RuPaul under the imprint "Starbooty, Inc."

Soundtrack

''Starrbooty: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' was released June 20, 2017. # Call Me Starrbooty # The Call (Interlude) # A Fistful Of Booty # Damn You Annaka! (Interlude) # Big Booty Opening # Alexi Popov (Interlude) # How 2 Rock It # Can't Fake It With The Johns (Interlude) # Do The Right Thing # Cupcake & Pepper (Interlude) # Sweet Pussycat Of Mine # Ol’ Smeller (Interlude) # Pussycat 4 Sale # CBT Session (Interlude) # Put Some Weight On It # Miss Tasha (Interlude) # Drop That Pimp # Diesel Pancake Makeup (Interlude) # Call Me Starrbooty (Gomi's Cellular Edit) # Cupcake Meets Annaka (Interlude) # Booty Love # Dismembership (Interlude) # Call Me Starrbooty (View To A Booty) # Epilogue (Interlude) # Hey Booty

Notes

References

External links

Official film site
* * {{Authority control 2007 films 2007 LGBT-related films American LGBT-related films Films with screenplays by RuPaul Transgender-related films 2007 directorial debut films Drag (clothing)-related films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films