Gay Toronto hairdresser Robin Turner (Craig Russel) is a very talented female impersonator who does an act in local gay clubs. His roommate is Liza Connors (Hollis McLaren), a high-school friend who is now pregnant and recently released from a mental hospital where she was being treated for schizophrenia. She is determined never to return to the hospital again, and he wants to be a show-business success with his impressions. When Robin loses his job, the two try their luck in NYC at the "Jackrabbit Club". His perfect impressions of Bette Davis, Barbra Streisand, Carol Channing, Tallulah Bankhead, and Mae West make a splash. But as Robin's star rises, Liza spirals into misery and madness. Robin and Liza need each other, and this can be explained by their total acceptance of one another. They both have to take chances in life, but as Robin says, people treat, “life as though it’s a can of Coke, and they’re afraid to drink it too fast.” Hunky gay cab driver Bob (David McIlwraith) meets them, and as a former talent agent agrees to represent Robin and gets him a job at "Ziggy's Cabaret", where he becomes their sensational star attraction. Liza goes to the hospital to give birth, but the baby is stillborn. She goes into a deep depression, believeing she is "the one born dead." Robin replies "You're not dead. You're alive and sick and living in New York like eight million other people." He tells Liza that yes, she's crazy, but she has to make that crazy work for her. "You’ll never be normal," he says, "but you’re special.” The film ends with Robin and a recovering Liza dancing madly together.
This show-business cult comedy with a twist is a great, touching, and sincere 1970's period peice with charming performances by all. It's a gay classic with sad and campy fun moments. Craig Russel's many impersonations are the best in cincema history. He worked as the private secretary to Mae West, so he could impersonate her perfectly. Richard Benner directed from his own script based on Margaret Gibson Gilboord's short story.
"Too Outrageous" (1987) is the somewhat disappointing sequel to "Outrageous!". It is a better production, with a bigger budget, better cast, and Craig Russell has a very attractive boyfriend. Robin Turner, the hairdresser-turned-female impersonator who began his nightclub routine in the earlier film, is still playing in small clubs, and his devoted friend Liza Connors (Hollis McLaren) hasn't yet fulfilled her dream of becoming a successful writer. The film tells what happens after Robin is discovered by a pair of agents who are intent on making him a big star. The agents, particularly a woman named Betty (Lynne Cormack), gush about what great potential Robin has, and dream of revamping his act so antiseptically that they can bill him as ''Canada's Comic Illusionist", instead of the specialty performer that he really is. Robin gets even when he appears on a live talk show and lets the world know that its host is gay. They deal with AIDS in this one, but it seems out of place with the rest of the movie. Russell works best when left to his own devices. He's better off wisecracking and performing than he is anguishing over his professional future. The film also features a female impersonator named Jimmy James, who looks uncannily like Marilyn Monroe, and Robin exclaims "He's good!". Once again Richard Benner wrote the script and directed.
