TUCKED: A Slice Of Life Smeared With Glitter, Laughter & Tears

Winner of the Audience Award for Outstanding Narrative Feature and the Grand Jury Award for Outstanding International Narrative Feature at this summer’s Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival, Tucked tells the story of an aging drag queen who, following a diagnosis of terminal cancer, befriends a younger queen and sets about living life to the fullest with what little time he has left.

It’s a heartwarming story about the importance of embracing one’s unique identity even in the face of discrimination and hatred – a surprisingly warm and fluffy story, considering the heavy themes at its heart.

A Shoulder To Lean On

Jack Collins, known as Jackie (Derren Nesbitt), is a celebrated drag performer at a nightclub despite his advancing age. In what is surprising to many who meet him, Jackie identifies as a heterosexual man; he just happens to like dressing up as women as much as he does sleeping with them. After the shock of discovering his desire to dress up in women’s clothing, his wife insisted he not attend her funeral when she was dying; Jackie granted her wish but has been estranged from his daughter, Lily (April Pearson), for the past decade as a result.

However, everything changes when Jackie is diagnosed with terminal cancer; his doctor tells him he likely doesn’t have more than two months to live. Jackie refuses to take it easy at the doctor’s request and continues performing at the club – after all, the show must go on – where he meets a troubled young performer known as Faith (Jordan Stephens). Faith identifies as gender fluid and refuses to succumb to any labels in regards to their sexuality, which has resulted in getting kicked out of their parents home to live in their car.

Unable to watch Faith sleeping in the back of a car, Jackie’s old fatherly instinct gets the better of him, and he invites Faith to come live with him. Faith’s much-needed friendship and sparkling presence in his home inspire Jackie to make the most of his final days, including finally attempting to get in touch with his daughter again. But will Lily agree to meet with the man who she blames for her mother’s death so many years ago?

Friendship is Magic

Written and directed by prolific filmmaker Jamie Patterson, Tucked is intriguing in the way it explores a heterosexual man’s desire to dress up and perform in drag without making fun of him or challenging his own clearly established identity. Too often in film is cross-dressing used for cheap laughs, a way to insist that a man just isn’t manly enough; here, it is used as one man’s necessary emotional outlet, something that enables him to live his life in the unique way that he wants and to pursue his passion as a performer.

As Jackie, Nesbitt – who came out of self-imposed screen acting retirement to take on this one last role – highlights all of the little nuances in his character with grace and sensitivity, showing us how labels are too often affixed to people before they get a chance to tell their whole story.

The film glides along on the strength of Jackie and Faith’s unique friendship and the cozy chemistry between Nesbitt and Stephens. One could definitely argue that it would have been better for Faith to have been played by a gender fluid performer, but one cannot deny that Stephens is excellent in the role. (And as someone who has spoken out against toxic masculinity and the emotional distress that can come from holding oneself hostage to traditional gender norms, Stephens is at least clearly invested in these issues.)

Faith is of a different generation than Jackie, a generation that has more fully embraced the colorful spectrum of gender identity and sexuality that exists. Faith’s unwillingness to compromise in regards to their fluid identity is inspiring to Jackie, showing him that anything is possible, while Jackie provides Faith with the support and mentorship that they couldn’t find with their own parents.

It’s impossible to not have the c*ckles of your heart warmed by Faith’s attempt to teach Jackie how to use Facebook to track down Lily, or when Jackie attempts to calm Faith down after they accuse another queen of stealing their style.

Tucked: Conclusion

Tucked eventually winds down into a feel-good ending that ties up all of the tangled strings of Jackie and Faith’s lives a little too neatly to be truly believable. But it is refreshing to see an LGBTQ tale that doesn’t get bogged down in tragedy, as though that is the only possible fate for anyone whose gender identity doesn’t fit neatly into societal expectations.

It might focus on a man with cancer, but Tucked remains resolutely upbeat in its belief that true happiness can only be found when we are true to ourselves.

What do you think? Does Tucked sound like an intriguing exploration of identity? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Tucked had its world premiere at the Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival on July 21, 2018.