Workhorse Queen (Documentary)

By day, Ed Popil worked as a telemarketer in Rochester, New York for 18 years. By night, he transformed into drag queen Mrs. Kasha Davis, a 1960’s era housewife trying to liberate herself from domestic toil through performing at night in secret –an homage to Ed’s mother. After seven years of auditioning to compete on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Ed Popil was finally cast onto the tv show and thrust into a full-time entertainment career at the late age of 44. Workhorse Queen explores the complexities of reality television’s impact on queer performance culture by focusing on the growing divide between members of a small-town drag community – those who have been on television, and those who have not.

Through various home videos and YouTube videos that Mrs. Kasha Davis was always a confident star who always who she was. Her camp sensibilities blended well with the Rochester, NY drag scene and earned her a decent amount of local success. But year after year despite trying for RuPaul's Drag race show, she eventually made to one season but had to leave the show at 11th position. We learn a bit about the star's history, on how was he not supported by family, was actually married to a girl and then divorced. The film , never goes into trying to find how and when did Mrs. Kasha Davis' drag sensibilities came into picture. We see all her struggles as she moves on from gig to gig, trying to do one person acts on stage, flying to New York for panel discussions and her comedy standup which are sometimes successful and ther times barely no one shows up. But what you see, is a fully supportive husband who stand by her through thick and thin. The famous drag star who became popular using the catchphrase “There’s always time for a cocktail,” talks about her own addiction and rehab stories.

For many a performing Dra queens, the craft requires sacrifice, thankless long hours, and money for costumes, makeup, and hair sometimes just for the chance to be seen but always for the chance to live out your dream. So keeping that in mind, this documentary film shows raw, celebratory, passionate, and revelatory story on Mrs. Kasha Davis. It honors living your true authentic self and how one person impacts people’s lives in ways you never thought possible. It’s gratifying that the makers can capture the positive resolution to Popil’s disappointing experiences by the end of the film. As this workhorse queen himself explains, “I realized I can have an impact on people’s lives doing the work that I love, right here at home in Rochester.” This truth, and the sense that this queen is one of the good ones, is reinforced with interviews from folks in Rochester that speak to Popil’s endless and genuine support of the community. All in all, for those who find drag entertaining, or even for those who just find diverse voices compelling, Workhorse Queen will create a deeper respect for all the drag artists out there who aren’t in the celebrity spotlight but find their voices anyway. I definitely have a newfound respect for drag artists. (6/10)