Each Monday, I continue to share Western movie reviews as I go through the process of finishing post and releasing my 12 Westerns in 12 Months during 2020. I am watching these films not from an audience perspective but as a filmmaker, as a student of the genre.
Week 124: Lust in the Dust
I don’t think any full study of the Western genre can ignore its most ridiculous entries and therefore, I finally queued up Lust in the Dust to conclude my monthly study of 80s Westerns. I should not have been surprised that this film has a lot of merit considering that it was directed by Paul Bartel, mostly known for his hilarious satire Eating Raoul.
Lust in the Dust is totally worth a watch and arguably better than most Westerns of its decade or even the ones made today. Campy and cartoonish at times, the movie still hangs onto to a narrative that moves along at a fair pace and shockingly makes sense. The characters are great, especially Tab Hunter’s who riffs on Eastwood’s macho mannerisms. Divine, to my knowledge the only drag queen lead in any Western, steals the show of course. Her part is so over the top but I soon relaxed into it and enjoyed the preposterous performance.
The best scene in the movie is the big cat fight in the bar between Divine and the other women.
Watched on Tubi.
