The Cockettes (2002)
89%RT Audience Score: 83%
Awards & Nominations: 4 wins & 7 nominations
Absorbing, fascinating, and finally poignant, The Cockettes provides a colorful, eye-opening view of the counterculture 1960s
The Cockettes is a wild ride through the 1970s San Francisco drag scene, complete with bearded ladies, lactating hippies, and a whole lot of glitter. This documentary is a must-see for anyone who wants to learn about alternative forms of drag and the indomitable human will to rebel, connect, and create. Plus, the old-timey silent film title cards and vaudeville piano score will transport you to another time and place, where anything was possible and everything was fabulous. So grab your feather boa and get ready to party like it’s 1970!
Production Company(ies)
Mappa Genco
Distributor
Strand Releasing
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for nudity, sexual content, drug references and some language
Year of Release
2002
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 39m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 10, 2002 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 4, 2019
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
documentary, counterculture, San Francisco, drag, glitter, hippies, theater, music, fashion, gay politics, spirituality, urban club life, R, Bill Weber, David Weissman, David Weissman, English, Dolby Stereo, Surround, Rumi, Anton Dunnigan, Anton Koldewyn, Dusty Dawn, John Flowers, Goldie Glitters, reviewed by David Rooney, Kimberley Jones, Desson Thomson, Ann Hornaday, Duane Byrge, Steven Rosen, Jan Stuart, Dennis Harvey, Christopher Borrelli, Mike Goodridge, Glenn Dunks, Emanuel Levy, produced by David Weissman, $220.1K, directed by Bill Weber, David Weissman, starring Rumi, Anton Dunnigan, Anton Koldewyn, Dusty Dawn, John Flowers, Goldie Glitters, MPAA rating R, Some Language, Drug References, Sexual Content, Nudity
Worldwide gross: $220,165
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $365,157
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,815
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 39,821
US/Canada gross: $220,165
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $365,157
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,414
US/Canada opening weekend: $17,118
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $28,391
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,384
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $300,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $497,569
Production budget ranking: 2,113
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $267,941
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$400,352
ROI to date (est.): -52%
ROI ranking: 1,703
Anton Dunnigan – self
Anton Koldewyn – self
Dusty Dawn – self
John Flowers – self
Goldie Glitters – self
Director(s)
Bill Weber, David Weissman
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
David Weissman
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
4 wins & 7 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (44) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (4)
Joyously re-creates the brief but resplendent reign of the legendary freakadelic drag troupe.
July 6, 2010
David Rooney
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Maybe it’s the old-timey, silent film title cards, or the vaudeville piano tinkering on the score, but The Cockettes produces a yearning wistfulness for another time and place — specifically, 1970s San Francisco.
March 10, 2003
Kimberley Jones
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Cockettes has the glorious, gaudy benefit of much stock footage of Those Days, featuring all manner of drag queen, bearded lady and lactating hippie.
September 6, 2002
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
As Weber and Weissman demonstrate with such insight and celebratory verve, the Cockettes weren’t as much about gender, sexual preference or political agitprop as they were simply a triumph of the indomitable human will to rebel, connect and create.
September 6, 2002
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
An insightfully cheeky entertainment.
August 21, 2002
Duane Byrge
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
This expert, heartfelt movie establishes them as being as much a part of swingin’ San Francisco as the Grateful Dead or the Beats.
August 9, 2002 | Rating: 3.5/4
Steven Rosen
Denver Post
TOP CRITIC
The Cockettes is the most celebratory document of sexual transgression since Paris Is Burning.
April 5, 2022
Jan Stuart
The Advocate
Not even Woodstock captures the era’s sense of wide-open artistic and personal freedom like this indelible chronicle…
October 15, 2020
Dennis Harvey
48 Hills
The effect is to actually bring to life the idealistic spirit of the times, to provide a context more resonant than simply the fashions and the music.
September 15, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
Christopher Borrelli
Toledo Blade
Its long term value as a timeless well-crafted documentary is considerable.
September 15, 2020
Mike Goodridge
Screen International
The film … is a must see for anybody wanting to learn about alternative forms of drag and for those who want to know about a forgotten slice of pop culture.
March 4, 2017 | Rating: B+
Glenn Dunks
sbs.com.au
August 12, 2005 | Rating: 2/5
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com…
Plot
On New Year’s Eve, 1969, a flamboyant ragtag troupe of genderbending hippies took the stage of San Francisco’s Palace Theater and The Cockettes were born. For the next 2 1/2 years, these outrageous drag performers created 20 shows with titles like “A Crab on Uranus Means You’re Loved” and “Tinsel Tarts in a Hot Coma,” and were featured in four underground films. But when the Cockettes flew to New York City to appear Off Broadway – well, you’ll just have to see what happened when New Yorkers took a look at them. Documentarians Weissman and Weber have crafted a record of a wondrous time and a wild group in The Cockettes.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for The Cockettes.
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