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Lawrence Chaney, a Scottish drag queen, was casually browsing through their inbox when they came across an email that caught their attention. The email mentioned a role in a film called “Arthur’s Whisky” and offered an invitation to Chaney to be a part of it, acting alongside famous names like Diane Keaton, Boy George, and Lulu. Despite gaining fame on the drag scene after winning RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2021, Chaney remained humble. They initially thought the email may be a scam, with the next one asking for a large sum of money to be sent to an untraceable bank account. As a result, they chose to leave the email unanswered for two weeks.
At approximately the same time, Boy George was on stage in Las Vegas when his phone rang. It was Lulu, inquiring if he would like to portray himself in a small movie she was working on.
The outcome was considered one of life’s most surreal moments for the people living in a retirement community in Surrey. This is where a significant portion of the filming for Arthur’s Whisky took place during a cold week last spring. While catering trucks provided hot drinks for the crew, senior residents gathered from their charming redbrick cottages to the village hall for an exclusive and unique event.
Below the main stage, a bright palm tree was the focal point in a purple-lit setting. The rest of the room was filled with less glamorous equipment such as cables, clapperboards, and camera booms. This was not the usual gathering place of Whiteley Village, just a quick train ride from London. Instead, it was the Coronet Vegas theatre, where Chaney, dressed in extravagant drag attire, introduced Boy George. He performed Culture Club’s hit song from 1983, Karma Chameleon, repeatedly.
The atmosphere became even stranger when three giggling fans were called up to the stage. “I believe I know that woman, it’s Lulu, right?” proudly declared an older gentleman, as the petite singer struggled up the stairs in high platforms, accompanied by a tall Keaton with his signature hair flying and a sharply dressed Patricia Hodge. The trio then proceeded to play around with Boy George.
The scene turns out to be the climactic moment of Arthur’s Whisky, a wacky age-positive comedy directed by Stephen Cookson. Lulu, Keaton and Hodge play Susan, Linda and Joan, old friends whose discovery of a youth-restoring whisky in the shed of Joan’s recently deceased inventor husband sends them off on the adventure of a lifetime.
Lulu, according to everyone except herself, is like the fairy godmother of the movie. “Oh no, I wouldn’t say that. I just reached out to a few people that I knew would be perfect for the role,” says the 75-year-old singer. Other than getting Boy George to join the project, it was actually Lulu who convinced Chaney that the invitation was legitimate (they had met when Lulu was a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race). “I’m not a fantastic actress. I mean, she’s amazing,” she says, motioning towards Hodge. “Diane is a wonderful actress. My main talent is singing. This is my second job. But I do enjoy acting.”
Keaton, aged 77, rested in her own bungalow during breaks to recover from jetlag. Meanwhile, Lulu and Hodge, who are also in their late 70s, willingly crammed into a small backstage room for their interview. The two were so close that they completed each other’s sentences. “The script was captivating. It was significant that it focused on women our age,” expresses Hodge. “Absolutely,” adds Lulu, “There’s a line in the movie that says age is just a number. That sums it up perfectly. And we all have personal experiences that others can relate to.”
Lulu’s character, known as Susan, is portrayed as a cheerful and eager to please individual who has yet to find her perfect partner. Hodge’s character, Joan, is depicted as a patient wife whose spouse, the eccentric inventor Arthur, is not her one and only. Keaton’s character, Linda, has a backstory of divorce from a unfaithful husband whose partners have progressively become younger over time. What sets this film apart from other comedies about aging is that the women are able to return to their youthful bodies – portrayed by a trio of youthful lookalikes – while retaining their mature minds. This leads to an intriguingly unsettling power shift as they begin to pursue relationships with younger men.
After being given their roles, the three stars’ initial responsibility was to come together and figure out what could have brought these diverse women together. They decided to have dinner together. “I proposed, ‘It must be a shared sense of humor.’ I believe as one ages, they learn to laugh and can be silly with each other,” explains Hodge.
“Definitely,” adds Lulu. “One of the benefits of aging is that we can now laugh at the things we used to stress over, like not being smart enough, thin enough, attractive enough, or tall enough – all the things we once considered significant.”
Although the film has a cheerful tone, it conveys a significant message. According to Hodge, “when discussing diversity, we must also consider older women.” She notes that there is now a movement, in which Diane is a part of in America, to finally address this issue. Keaton recently released a sequel to the 2018 comedy Book Club, which follows a group of female friends in their later years who are inspired by reading Fifty Shades of Grey. Hodge has also contributed by collaborating with Nigel Havers to modernize Noël Coward’s Private Lives in London, portraying a comedic story of two septuagenarians who fall back in love after divorcing.
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Lulu, who recently celebrated her 75th birthday during LGBT History Month, believes that this is a significant moment for their community. However, she and Hodge acknowledge that they cannot rely on their youthful successes anymore. Hodge shares a conversation she had with a fellow actor where she complimented their appearance and the response was, “I never leave home in a hurry.” They both understand that managing their success requires hard work.
According to Lulu, the important thing to note is that women are now living longer. Therefore, although our bodies may be aging, women like us are still very active. We have a job that we are passionate about, and it is our duty to encourage others by saying, “You can achieve it too – just look at us, we are still the same as we have always been, but with even more experience.”
As I make my way through my unusual day in Whiteley Village, I realize that the film is not only examining diversity in terms of age. It also challenges the boundaries between different styles of performance. Hodge represents the traditional English approach to stage and screen, while Keaton is a beloved figure in Hollywood comedy. Lulu, on the other hand, is a Eurovision song contest champion who has consistently reinvented herself. And then there are Boy George, known for breaking gender norms in his musical performances in the 1980s, and Chaney, a 27-year-old who recently won a competitive drag race, a feat that would have been unheard of on mainstream television during the time when the others were rising to fame.
This mashup has some unintentionally funny moments: Chaney admits to feeling anxious about remembering lines during a heart-to-heart scene between their characters, Lucy Rulez and Linda, in a dressing room. However, when Diane walked in, Chaney was even more nervous to speak with the Hollywood legend. But to their surprise, Diane complimented their makeup. During the scene, Diane started crying and Chaney handed her a tissue, asking what was wrong. Diane replied with a reminder that acting is her job.
Boy George, now 62, emphasizes the importance of adapting to current times. Recently, he composed a song titled How to Be a Chandelier as a tribute to Liberace, who was once the epitome of tacky extravagance associated with Las Vegas. Boy George notes that while in his generation, Las Vegas was perceived as a destination for older individuals, it has now become a popular spot for everyone. He hopes to have a long-term residency in Las Vegas, allowing him to showcase his diverse musical interests. Despite this, he also aspires to be offered a legitimate acting role in the future, rather than constantly being typecast as himself. He expresses confidence in his abilities and even jokes about the possibility of playing a Cockney version of Shakespeare.
He is delighted to have had the opportunity to dance with Keaton. He expresses, “She has been a part of my movie-watching life for a long time, and everyone would love to receive a phone call from Lulu. But at the end of the day, we are all just ordinary people. There is nothing extraordinary about anyone.” He then returns to the stage for another take of Karma Chameleon. In the dressing room, drag queen Lucy Rulez tells Linda that there is no secret to embracing one’s true self. She advises, “You simply have to follow your own path, even if it means walking in stilettos sometimes.”
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The brand of whisky called Arthur’s is featured on Sky Cinema.
Source: theguardian.com
