neumu [ cinematronic ]




	The Cockettes
	Bill Weber and David Weissman The Cockettes 2002		A (literally) sparkling documentary account of a strange, flamboyant cultural manifestation: The Cockettes, the gender-twisting, San Francisco-based theatrical troupe of the early '70s. The Cockettes' ambisexual make-up (hetero, homo, male, female), and their flouting of authority and conventional society, arose from the era's communal hippie mentality and free-love movement. But this outrageous, glitter-encrusted "family" also presaged or influenced the glam-rock scene, performance art and the call for gay rights. Directors Bill Weber and David Weissman dug up kaleidoscopic archival footage, including TV news reports, raw home movies and clips from underground films such as The Cockettes' 1971 parody "Tricia's Wedding." They folded in interviews with surviving company members as they are today and fans that include trash-loving filmmaker John Waters. For the curious or lovers of the avant-garde, the final cut is like a fabulous ride through a psychedelic time-warp.