Listed three nights a week
Director: Florent Gouelou | Script: Florent Gouelou, Raphaelle Desplechin | Cast: Pablo Pauly (Baptiste), Romain Eck (Cookie Kunty/Quentin), Hafsia Herzi (Samia), ea | Time to play: 103 minutes | Year: 2022
three nights a week portrays the world of Parisian drag queens with such enthusiasm that it is not surprising that Baptiste was impressed by one of them. An aspiring photographer, he accompanies his girlfriend Samia to the mobile hospital station where he works to take pictures. There he meets the extravagant drag queen Cookie Kunty, who proposes a photography project. During that project, Baptiste not only falls in love with her appearance, but also with the man behind the layers of makeup and clothing, Quentin. This confronts him with important questions about love and his career.
It’s no surprise that director Florent Gouelou himself makes a cameo appearance as his alter ego Javel Habibi. Full of devotion, the film looks behind the scenes, when drag queens are still men. Like in a music video, Vadim Alsayed’s camera revolves around the extravagant appearances on stage. Tracking shots and flashing neon lights also add to the excitement outside of the show. Gouëlou is passionately immersed in Cookie Kunty’s group, in which dazzling shows and moments of bonding without makeup alternate seamlessly.
It poignantly portrays drag queens with a sense of humor, when, for example, Cookie Kunty urinates against a tree when a man or someone walks with a giant baguette as a symbol of the phallus. Romain Eck plays the dual role of Cookie Kunty and Quentin with charm, but at the same time is assertive. That attitude contrasts with the rather empty Pablo Pauly as Baptiste. In this way, the film is immersed in this world at the same time as the still green photographer.
A seasoned connoisseur, Gouelou doesn’t shy away from the lesser sides of a drag queen’s existence. He characterizes the film that the first meeting takes place at an HIV testing station. Unfortunately, he can’t outrun drag queens being beaten up in the street or laughed at in bars. In one captivating scene, a group sings at the top of their lungs on the roof of the car as truckers look on in the distance. That moment of triumph turns into flight, in which the film also exposes his weakness.
Because screaming so emphatically on the roofs of cars feels sketchy despite the enthusiasm that speaks of the images. Screenplay Gouëlous (written with Raphaëlle Desplechin) forms a bone-thin skeleton of predictable twists and turns. Ultimately, the film follows a tried-and-tested feel-good concept, in which Baptiste comes to know his true nature prompted by his new friends. The fact that the main character is so blank is therefore also a limitation. However, the love for drag queens remains. three nights a week is an exciting introduction to this niche market.