You can’t find a bigger fan of the show RuPaul’s Drag Race than I. Well, maybe Joel McHale of The Soup. Drag Race provided him with some of this year’s most insane clips. Why do I love drag queens? Why not?! Thee glamour, the pageantry, the showmanship, the makeup, are all amazing. They take some of the campiest pleasures of pop culture and bedazzle them. The earnestness of the competitors in the Miss Gay America pageant is startling. The interview are great, as is the pacing. I would recommend this documentary to anyone.

One subject, Carl, makes the distinction early on in his interview that he doesn’t want to become a woman, he simply wants to impersonate a woman. I think there’s something universal about drag; men’s roles in society are typically staid and emotionless, while some women — divas of stage and screen — can be as emotional and extravagant as they want to be and still be loved by society. Imitating these women is liberating for people who have felt the need to hide their true identity. That concealing of your real feelings is the universal bit, but drag is very specific. I think this documentary works for a broad audience, though, because of it plainly shows the joy and happiness that the contestants have found for themselves. I think most people can get into seeing others smile. Live and let live, after all.