Posted on December 02, 2019
By Linda Morris
In 1995, Wesley Snipes was a bankable activity legend comparable to Sylvester Stallone. Patrick Swayze was a heartthrob who’d softened crowds in Ghost and Dirty Dancing. It was likewise the year the two stars wore gowns and wigs for what got one of the decade’s most darling camp works of art, To Wong Foo. On May 28, Factory discharged an all-encompassing version of the film, with extra film, editorial, and a creation of featurette without a moment to spare for Pride month and the 50th commemoration of the Stonewall Riots.
To Wong Foo marks a turning point in eccentric portrayal on screen, as a studio motion picture featured by significant stars — playing gay, however in heels — that beat the movies in its initial two weeks. Composed by writer Douglas Carter Beane, the excursion trick pursues Swayze’s as maternal Vida, Snipes’ as cynical Noxeema, and their tag-along turned protégé Chi-Chi (a job composed explicitly for John Leguizamo) from Manhattan to Hollywood to challenge for the Drag Queen of the Year award. While driving across the states their vehicle stalls in a center of-no place town. Robin Williams had quite recently made Mrs. Doubtfire three years before he prompted Steven Spielberg to create To Wong Foo, yet passed on featuring in it (apparently in light of the fact that Williams thought himself too furry to even think about playing Vida). In any case, To Wong Foo was extraordinary. The characters are really drag sovereigns, instead of straight men utilizing ladies’ garments as a camouflage to get what they need (which is generally the young lady). In spite of the fact that Leguizamo’s Chi-Chi is the just one to have an adoration enthusiasm (for Jason London’s aw-shucks Bobby Ray), every one of the three men are comprehended to be gay. (Kumar Naveen 2019)
John Leguizamo is a hispanic actor who had taken on several roles eventually earning him lead actor in movies. As a hispanic man taking on a drag queen role was very challenging and a big step to launch a more serious position in Hollywood. All semester long we have been discussing latino men in film on the cusp of being homosexual by wether becoming to close in prison with their friends or the need for sexual encounter from doing time behind bars such as we watched on the film American Me. We also discussed films like Scarface where hispanic men used women as sex objects and demanded to be the boss in tier relationships to prove their manhood. We speculated how masculine you could be if the men were in fact lovers and friends, this movie pushed all the speculation or the questionable homosexual acts depicted in Hollywood. To Wong Foo did not suggest if the men were gay it blatantly told the tale of three drag queens. The most interested part is that the character of hispanic native john leguizamo was specifically written for him.
Getting major roles in Hollywood for hispanics was rare unless it was a comedy or gangsta film and John Leguizamo broke that box open because Too Wong Foo went on to become a hit and John Leguizamo was nominated for a nominee for best supporting role in a film. This film also open up the door for the actor to get more superstar roles like in the big hit super mario brothers that made millions in the box office. I wanted my first blog to be at about a film that absolutely took the masculinity out of masculine about hispanic roles in Hollywood and highlight a hispanic actor that thought outside the box of gangsters and drugs defining the path of being courageous enough to put on a dress to show Hollywood that he deserved to be there.
I found it interesting when you wrote, “I wanted my first blog to be at about a film that absolutely took the masculinity out of masculine about hispanic roles in Hollywood and highlight a hispanic actor that thought outside the box of gangsters and drugs defining the path of being courageous enough to put on a dress to show Hollywood that he deserved to be there” because historically, Latino males roles in Hollywood have been depicted as you stated, gangsters or drug lords. Additionally, I was not aware that the role of Chi-Chi was written specifically for Leguizamo. And kudos to him for not changing his last name as they wanted him to early in his career.
HI lindamorris,
I understand that Leguizamo’s role was a break away from the “norm” we have seen for Latino males in film, such as the gangster, cholo, immigrant or the poor brown person, however, is it truly better or groundbreaking? I did not see it that way. To start with, his name in the film is “Chi-Chi”, a vulgar way to say breast in Spanish. Second, the character is a domestic violence victim that does not know how to get away from her abuser. Although the role was about a male dressed in women’s clothing, I found that the role represented Latina woman just as the norm we have been watching in all the films. Chi-Chi is sexualized and oppressed and must be saved by a brave white knight, Patrick Swayze.
Hi Linda,
It is very interesting to know that this film was specifically written for John Leguizamo and why was it. I do like how you made the comparison about masculinity between the this film and American Me in your blog, as most Latinos in Hollywood are portrayed as gangsters, drug dealers and Latin lovers. I also agree, that this film changed Hollywood for Latinos and opened doors for John as he was opened minded about taking on a roll of a drag queen. That was very courageous of him.
This is one of my favorite films and I’m glad someone chose to highlight the character of Chi Chi. I would like to hear more about the Latinx experience Chi Chi had because the film is beginning to unfold Chi Chi is referred to as “a little Latin boy in drag”. This comment seems to mean that Latin drag queens are less represented among that community. In another point in the film, Chi Chi says her parents were so poor that they got married for the rice which means that she has come from a family that has had to struggle financially. Also, when Chi Chi is found crying in a stairwell Noxeema says “Maybe she’s sad because she just found out Menudo broke up”. That kind of comment seems to portray Chi Chi as a character that has little emotional depth but as a viewer learning that she comes from a family that has had to struggle financially, we know Chi Chi is stronger than that. The film does not talk much about the conflict that could arise from her choice to dress in drag which may have affected her Latinx family the way Vida’s choice did but nevertheless Chi Chi is a fantastic character to learn about.
Also, when they end up in the small town Chi Chi is somewhat of a novelty to the young man Bobby Ray because she is Latinx. He has not had much exposure to individuals from different ethnic backgrounds and Chi Chi then takes on the stereotype of the sexy Latina. She dresses in a very provocative way and would like to seduce the young man. In this case Chi Chi has broken the machismo stereotype and stepped into another stereotype.