As a church-going Texan mother inherits her late son’s drag club, so Maybelline Metcalfe (Jacki Weaver) traverses the country and sets up temporary home in San Francisco. Husband Jeb ain’t too impressed.
Dealing with the guilt of disowning gay son Rickey years before, Weaver looks to overcome prejudices and support his achievements – including the ailing club now run by Rickey’s boyfriend, Nathan (Adrian Grenier). As the church choir director back home, Maybelline has a few home improvement ideas of her own. With moral support from the feisty single-mom neighbour Lucy Liu, Maybelline takes on the naysayers – and finds personal happiness along the way.
Surprisingly calm and homely for a dragclub-set feature, director Thom Fitzgerald focusses more on character development in this gentle comedy of manners that in reality should, and could, have been a lot funnier. To say Maybelline could have been played by Dolly Parton is an indication of just where this quietly charming, inoffensive narrative sits.
Rating: 58%
Director: Thom Fitzgerald (Cloudburst, The Hanging Garden)
Writer: Brad Hennig (The Hot Flashes)
Main cast: Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook), Adrian Grenier (The Devil Wears Prada, Entourage), Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels, Kill Bill)
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