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

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...

. 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 List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

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 In amniotes, the clitoris ( or ; : clitorises or clitorides) is a female sex organ. In humans, it is the vulva's most erogenous zone, erogenous area and generally the primary anatomical source of female Human sexuality, sexual pleasure. Th ...

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 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 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 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 In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...

and

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

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 filmmaker. He was primarily known for writing and directing a successful series of sexploitation films featuring campy humor, sly satire and large-breasted women, wh ...

, part

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, 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 conservatism in the United States, conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch ...

. 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 LGBTQ-related films 2007 films American LGBTQ-related films Films with screenplays by RuPaul Transgender-related films 2007 directorial debut films Drag (entertainment)-related films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films