First-time filmmakers Amy Watson and Dennis Keighron-Foster created a "special edition" re-edit of this LGBTQ-themed short-feature, one which, the viewer is given to understand, puts more emphasis on the dazzling visuals of dance. The topic is the transgender "vogue" dance movement centered on Manchester, England, the archetypal gritty working-class UK community from which, nonetheless, significant music trends have emerged (for one dramatization, see The 24 Hour Party People).
This one also bids to be a social revolution. Wildly bedecked gay men of all colors, plus straight women (black and white) come together in dance halls for "vogue" dancing, sometimes elaborately choreographed affairs featuring ensembles known as "houses" (House of Cards, House of Decay, House of Ghetto, etc.), sometimes just soloists freestyling, in tributes to Jessica Rabbit, Andy Warhol Campbell Soup Cans, the video game Street Fighter, or just their own original conceptions. The milieu is described as all-inclusive, all welcoming, all-ages—even accepting straights who enjoy the extravagant fantasy-camp-superstar vibe ("You don't have to be gay to be queer," someone says).
According to the commentary track (pairing Watson and Keighron with the documentary's main interviewee, the flamboyant "Vogue Ambassador" Darren Pritchard), the first-time moviemakers went into the project with no structure or plan in mind, and the film grew "organically," with bits and pieces shot leading up to the gay social event of the year, the ICONS Vogue Ball.
Loose structure is not always a plus, as many tidbits with club-scene insiders amount to sloganeering ("Vogue is socialism!") and references to offstage elements that could bear more expansion (the homophobic murders of some members of the gay community). Much is devoted to the double stigma of being a person of color AND being drawn to the gay milieu, and how these clubs developed as safe spaces and celebrations.
This revised version of the original wisely expands on the House of Ghetto, composed of relatively (by drag-ball standards) demure Afro-Caribbean ladies who work regular jobs by day, then escape into the dance halls by night; their high-speed routine at ICONS is a showstopper.
Deleted scenes are noteworthy insofar as they tend to be less preening and more conversational (beware of the anecdote about the lamb heart though!). Comparisons with the drag-queen classics Paris is Burning and Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert are self-evident. Shelves with LGBTQ titles such as that should make room for Deep in Vogue, and, presumably, viewership will not be shocked by the language (one, uh, song is simply the lyric "bitch" repeated infinitely) or male near-nudity, emphasis on rear ends. (Aud: C, P)