Divine: Live at the Hacienda (1994)
On 16 February 1983, Divine performs a seven-song set at the Hacienda Club in Manchester. His peroxide blond hair sticks in all directions; he's dressed in a skin-tight, short, off-one-shoulder, sparkling dress that he says he got from the Queen, who wouldn't wear it. The set includes Gang Bang (the name-game song), Jungle Jezebel, Born To Be Cheap, Alphabet Rap, Native Love, Shake It Up, and, for an encore, Shoot Your Shot. The band, whom we never see, is techno-rock. Between songs, Divine chats up the audience, usually talking about sex.
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Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
In the early 1980s transvestite actor/singer Divine toured England's gay clubs with his live act: basically singing along to Hi-NRG backing tracks, telling dirty jokes and answering questions from audiences who had never seen the like of him before on this side of the Atlantic. This is a short film documenting one such show, recorded at Manchester's legendary club The Hacienda in February 1983.Divine, sweating profusely in a skin tight lycra dress (apparently 'rejected by the Queen'), performs a selection of his raunchiest numbers including 'Shoot Your Shot', 'Gang Bang' and the seminal 'Born to be Cheap', but try as he might the English audience here seem dazed and confused by his act, defiantly standing in front of the stage with their arms crossed and looking distinctly miserable.'You filthy English people' Divine screams, trying to goad them into life, but the unresponsive audience just look embarrassed. Eighteen months later the reaction would have been somewhat different as by July 1984 Divine had crossed over into the mainstream in the UK with his top 20 dance track 'You Think You're a Man' and he was a bona fide star. However, in this film Divine has to put up with a complete lack of enthusiasm from the club-goers who heckle him with comments like 'What does sh*t taste like?' Divine replies with crude one-liners, but it's amazing that he just doesn't storm off stage.Despite being crudely made and directed 'Divine: Live at the Hacienda' is actually quite funny in an awful kind of way. It proves beyond doubt that, in the face of adversity, Divine was a true professional.