RAINDANCE 2020 | "Drag Kids" Has A Big Heart, But Lacks Compelling Direction
5/12 ForReel Score | 2/5 Stars
Discovering your identity is an important journey everyone should take without fear of judgement. But at what point are you certain about who you are and what your passion is? The best way to understand this more is through the eyes of young people discovering themselves. Drag Kids is a documentary from director Megan Wennberg that presents viewers with the world of drag from the perspective of a newly formed troupe of kids: Stephan with the stage name Laddy Gaga, Jason as Suzan Bee Anthony, Bracken as Bracken Gvasalia and Nemis as Queen Lactatia. Perhaps living in the shoes - or high heels - of these kids might be satisfying enough for some, but Drag Kids glosses over the most controversial aspects of this contentious subject and the direction and impact of this documentary unfortunately suffers for it.
Society has a lot to learn about the drag community, but Drag Kids is a presentation that expects audiences to already know lingo and understand the scene. Kids in drag is still - to say the least - a controversial topic, so the preach-to-the-choir nature of this documentary sharply limits how accessible the subject matter is to mainstream and conservatively minded viewers who already have their reservations.
And though the kids that Megan takes a chance on covering have spunk and gusto to spare, they don’t seem ready to put on their best show as mature performers nor as subjects who can carry a feature length documentary. Their enthusiasm for drag often comes off as a passive hobby rather than a passion to devote themselves to. Ironically, the one who shines the most in this young genderbending troupe is the young lady in the group (hyper queen, as female drag queens are known as), Bracken Hanke, who does her best to share her natural aptitude for the artform with her male counterparts.
Despite the drawbacks, watching these four kids get the chance to interact with each other is priceless. Whether they’re eating ice cream together or doing each other’s makeup there is clearly an incredible bond that they have formed around their interest in drag. With unconditional love and support from their parents, these families are phenomenal assets to this topic, even if their perspectives are significantly under utilized in Drag Kids.
Yes, Stephan, Jason, Bracken and Nemis are just kids and shouldn’t be held to unreasonably high standards in the actualization of their drag identities. But it does indicate that Drag Kids might just be the right subject to address at the wrong time in these kids' lives. And by failing to ask the right questions or entertain the uncomfortable discussions this topic provokes, admiration for these youngsters’ efforts is all Drag Kids has to offer.
Kids deserve the ability to explore and express themselves how they want in their efforts to be who they are. This is a clear and respectable message in Drag Kids. But the documentary does not instigate a compelling enough discussion as to why that prepubescent self discovery is appropriate to make into public entertainment alongside grown people doing grown things. Like the children it features, Drag Kids isn’t quite developed enough to perform with the high impact that it wants to.
Acting and Casting - 0 | Visual Effects and Editing - 2 | Story and Message - 1 | Entertainment Value - 1 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 1 | Reviewer's Preference - 0 | What does this mean?