I'm the first to admit that I don't wholly understand the appeal of the drag show. You've got some guys dressed up in outrageous gowns, lip-syncing their way through the hits of yesteryear. Mainly disco. Somehow this has become an enduring form of entertainment.

I suppose I'm not the only one. Bafflement over dragdom plays a big part of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Here we have three guys (well, two cross-dressing guys and one transsexual) from Sydney -- a cosmopolitan burg -- who trek into the Australian desert to perform their drag show at a remote resort which may not be quite so wise to the ways of the cross-dresser.

If you're unfamiliar with the cast, it might shock you: Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce have become some of cinema's most burly men, Terence Stamp -- as transsexual Bernadette Bassenger -- is perhaps the scariest, most masculine man alive. (Never mind his costume in Superman II.) And that's perhaps what gives Priscilla such lasting charm. Contrary to a lot of gay cinema, here we have three straight guys taking the lead roles, playing characters confused, conflicted, and desperate for acceptance. But all three men are exceptional in their roles. Stamp is the standout, his thick, deep voice a wild contrast to his difficult physical transformation into a woman; Weaving as the drag queen with a couple of deeply buried secrets; Pearce as the most obvious stereotype of the bunch, yet utterly convincing you that he's completely and utterly gay (what with the stage name Felicia Jollygoodfellow).

Structurally, the movie is a road trip. Their pink bus (painted to cover up epithets scrawled on it during an early stop) breaks down frequently, giving them time to hobnob with desert locals and find little but blank stares and sometimes violence in response to their cabaret act. The girls don't seem to mind. They're used to persecution, and they soldier on to their destination, wearing one outrageous "frock" after another (one composed solely from flip-flops helped earn the film a best costume design Oscar), and playing a heap of disco to faux-croon to.

The film is fun, and though it offers a few platitudes on tolerance, mostly it's a showcase for one outrageous set piece after another. The movie's easy to like, but difficult to truly appreciate, which is probably one reason why it's become a camp classic on a scale with The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The new "extra frills edition" DVD includes a commentary track from director Stephan Elliot, deleted scenes, gag reel, and a making-of featurette, along with other assorted extras.