Life's a drag for these macho men
Stephen Schaefer By Stephen Schaefer
Thursday, October 8, 2009 - Updated 3h ago
http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/movies/general/view/20091008lifes_a_drag_for_these_macho_men/srvc=home&position=also (http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/movies/general/view/20091008lifes_a_drag_for_these_macho_men/srvc=home&position=also)
When Rupert Everett dons drag to play Camilla Fritton, the headmistress of an English girls school in tomorrow's "St. Trinian's," it's not meant as a joke.
Like its 1954 predecessor "The Belles of St. Trinian's" where doughy English actor Alistair Sim played headmistress Millicent Fritton, this remake is a throwback to Shakespeare's era, when women were banned from the stage and all roles were played by men.
There's a long cinematic history of men masquerading as women - most often for comic effect, but sometimes the gender-bending is played straight. For instance: