‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ (R)

I've been told over and over again that I made the mistake of watching "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" without the right audience--specifically a raucous, gay one. This apparently explains why I only thought the movie was "OK." You see, explain the movie's publicity handlers, a crowd in the right mood (not to mention costumes) turns "Priscilla" into, well, circus time.

"You didn't see it with a gay crowd?" said a gay friend who works in Hollywood. "He-lllllooo!"

"Priscilla," an Australian road/backstage movie by Stephan Elliott, is about three Sydney drag queens (Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce and Terence Stamp) who take a tour bus (called Priscilla) across the enormous Outback to play at a resort. The journey, full of bitchy banter on board (Pearce is a loud one) and frequent stops, has its episodic incidents: When Priscilla breaks down, for instance, Stamp becomes involved with car mechanic Bill Hunter, an old fan of the veteran transsexual's stage days of yore. And our lovable queens find themselves performing in drag for Aborigines, who find their vampy version of "I Will Survive" extremely provocative.

It's a cute trio. Pearce (an over-the-top, taunting queen-par-excellence) and Weaving (who played a memorable role as a blind photographer in Jocelyn Moorhouse's "Proof") are likably amusing. And Stamp (a big British star from the 1960s), as the battle-weary transsexual among these impulsive little girls exudes wonderfully put-upon poise. Picture Marlene D. with killer eyes. But like the tour bus, the movie suffers engine failure after a while. In a film about appearances and disguise, surely the ultimate question is: What lies within the hearts of these flamboyant souls?

For all the outrageous fare (the tacky gowns and wigs, offensive comments and so on), writer/director Elliott is surprisingly coy about his characters. Stamp is plunged into despair by the death of someone close to him. But apart from brief verbal references to the tragedy, it's barely touched on again. Weaving has some problems from his past to face at the other end of their destination. But his dilemma seems to have been drafted by a table of sitcom writers.

Obviously, "Priscilla" is a one-note pleasure: Bitches in the Desert! Queens in the Sand! Nancy boys do the Outback! It's about being Mitzi, Felicia and Bernadette, rather than living as their male counterparts (respectively, Weaving, Pearce and Stamp). And to those intending to go, I say this: Listen for the lines about Abba (as in, the kitschy pop group), unprintable as they are funny. The best one of all--a gross toilet joke graced by Stamp's world-weary delivery--is probably worth the price of admission.

THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT (R) -- Contains profanity and partial nudity.