By: Joseph R. Castel
I was really expecting to hate this movie. I thought, “Oh, no. Not another community theatre acting, amateur directing, low budget gay comedy.” With a name like Queen Tut, I could already hear the bitchy one-liners being belted out from a cabaret stage by mean-mouth drag queens. The title alone felt like familiar RuPaul television territory.
Fortunately, I was pleasantly impressed. The story focuses on Egyptian teen, Nabal (Ryan Ali) who after his mother passes away, leaves Cairo to live with his estranged ultra-religious, butch father (Dani Jazzar) in Toronto, Canada. Already, I’m thinking, they’re Muslim, but Nabal and his father, Iskander, are of the Egyptian Orthodox faith, known as Coptic. It’s little cultural surprises like this that keeps the viewer on his/her/their toes and prevents this coming out story from sinking into clichés and stereotypical scenarios.
Of course, Nabal is closeted, but his desire for cross dressing goes deeper than just sequins and heels. His yearning for female attire is very intrinsic to the memory of his deceased mother who was a frustrated seamstress who never reached her own dream of becoming a fashion designer. Nabal’s happiest childhood memories are of his mother at the sewing machine while he plays with the colorful, brilliant, intricate fabrics in her sewing room. Of course, the VHS videolike flashbacks of Nabal dressing up in the flamboyant fabric are always rudely interrupted with scolding’s from his traditionalist father. Back in Toronto, Iskander is always putting Nabal’s mother down, mainly because she left her husband to pursue her own dreams. When Nabal asks the Coptic priest to pray for his mother’s soul, the priest tells Nabal that she divorced his father and doesn’t deserve salvation.
While walking in the heart of the Gay Village in Toronto, Nabal comes across trans performer and activist Malibu (Alexandra Billings). Malibu has got an ax to grind and she’s waving a loud speaker to amplify her mission. Her bar, “Mandy’s” is scheduled for demolition by a development company that plans on turning the queer-business block into condominiums. Nabal’s father, Iskander, is one of the executives behind the new development project that’s aiming to displace the drag queens from their historic bar. To offset the obvious plot line, Mandy’s bar is just not any local lavender watering hole, this bar has roots, as it’s deceased owner, Mandy, was mother to all the motherless runaway LGBTQ youth during the AIDs epidemic. This makes Malibu’s mission to save the bar all the more pertinent.
However, like most social movements, very few are interested in preserving their own history. When Malibu tries to rally her neighbors into fighting City Hall and the development company, one neighbor callously confesses that she’s already bought one of the condos that’s being built. Oddly, Nabal is an immediate sympathizer to Malibu’s cause, despite him knowing fairly early on, that it’s his father’s company that’s putting the kibosh on Mandy’s Bar. His passive aggressive defiance is a curious strategy for survival as he navigates both cultures.
Knowing Malibu is a fashionista with a thread and needle, Nabal asks his mentor to help him sew some of the designs his mother left behind in a sketching book. Despite being vague about his intentions on why he wants the dresses, Malibu agrees to make the gowns for Nabal. The timid Egyptian pays Malibu back by supporting his cause to save the bar.
Although the “Save our community!” theme is a well-worn plot line, the film is not without merit. Nabal, played by Ryan Nali is exceptional as he zig-zags from religious Egyptian traditions to underground trans bar life. He’s quiet, shy, introverted, but not very feminine, so when he finally does don the glamorous, shimmering red gown designed by his mother, he sadly looks just like a straight boy in a dress. Even the Cleopatra wig doesn’t make him queena. I’m not sure if the Syrian actor is straight and doesn’t’ know how to act feminine or if it was a deliberate directive for Nabal to be awkwardly masculine in the radiant ball gown. Perhaps his character has been trying to pass as a straight for so long, he’s uncomfortable being feminine. It’s also not clear if Nabal just loves doing drag or is actually transitioning. He becomes romantically involved with another Egyptian who’s an altar boy (man) at his church, but it’s not apparent what Nabal’s pronouns are or will be as the film doesn’t take the viewer that far into the story.
Alexandra Billings (Transparent) as Malibu is very convincing. Her acting is a little uneven, but her witty, queer self-righteousness rings true when she bitches about her community’s apathy towards their own gay history. Malibu will be damned if she’s going to let the straight capitalists erase the memory of Mandy’s bar, just as Nabal refuses to let his father erase the memory of his mother.
Queen Tut will arrive on DVD and VOD June 11, as well as premiere on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play and VUDU.