Hurricane Bianca: From Russia With Hate (2018) Review!
Hurricane Bianca: From Russia with Hate is a 2018 American comedy film directed by Matt Kugleman and written by Kugelman and Derek Hartley and is a sequel to the 2016 film Hurricane Bianca. The plot centres on Bianca Del Rio being driven to Russia by Debbie’s campaign for revenge against her after being released from prison.
If you’re looking for an amazing masterpiece addition to cinematic history, then this is not remotely for you. This movie brings you strong not remotely subtle political commentary in an extremely camp style, making it camp to the max times ten. The story for the most part is fairly cohesive and performed by a large array of not only well-known actors but also Drag Race alumni, the stand out of which for me were Shangela and Katya. Shangela is great at delivering dialogue and timing and does it effortlessly, while Katya is able to perfectly balance the performance of Katya and the male counterpart Mitya. I was most unsure about Doug Plaut’s performance of Rex, the character was very bizarre and even for a movie full of drag queens, felt out of place. The absurdity of the character had some minor funny moments but for the most part just left me feeling disturbed in an unexpected way.
The movie utilises a great deal of green screen effects, far more than was ever used in the first movie and I’m not sure if the amount that was used was necessary. The quality and amount at times made it feel like a fun Youtube project and less of an official movie that you can get on DVD. The biggest surprise and disappointment for me was the lack of our main character. The movie is called Hurricane Bianca, so one would expect to see a lot of Bianca Del Rio but instead we see a lot more of he male persona Richard Martinez played by Roy Haylock. It’s not until we’re a fair way into the movie that Bianca comes out to play and in comparison to the first movie, Bianca doesn’t shine the way she did last time. The character is dulled down quite a lot and doesn’t have that flair and rapid-fire wit that Bianca is known so well for and was really showcased in the first movie. It felt like a lot of comedy was left to the other characters instead of our lead, which might be why I didn’t find it as amusing as the first one. I had the occasional chuckle, but I felt if Bianca had a chance to really be Bianca I would have been busting a gut far more frequently.
I still think the movie is fun and I love all the celebrity appearances. I also enjoy the message of the movie. While in the first movie the message was more about gays being punished and demonised in a hypocritical society, this one gives commentary on the current political climate in the US with Trump now being President and the connection with Russia, while also making a point to say that while things may be bad in the US at least it’s not as bad as being Gay in Russia, which is something that can lead to prison, death or both. In both movies it does address the subject of hate, in a sense that it is a useless emotion, that we spend so much time hating people when we could just get along or learn to mind our own business. It also uses hate as a way to learn to not take everything so seriously, if you could learn to joke about it then you find yourself not getting so offended by everything. So, the messages are there and clear and on point and I really do appreciate that.
Overall, it’s not terrible, I get to see a lot of Drag Race favourites and it’s still insanely campy so that’s always a plus for me. It definitely feels like the kind of movie that is better watched with friends while having a fun night in with drinks. I feel like watching it with a group would really amp up what you get out of it. Sadly, I watched it alone, so I wasn’t super entertained. At the end of the day it’s still fun, just not as fun as the first movie, so for all the reasons above I give Hurricane Bianca: From Russia with Hate a rating of 2.5/5 crystal balls.
