Prepare to get Schooled
Hurricane Bianca is an American independent comedy and LGBT film, directed and written by Matt Kugelman and starring RuPaul's Drag Race alumnus Roy Haylock (Bianca Del Rio) as the titular Bianca. As well as being marketed as a comedy, the film touches on serious social issues, such as the fact that it was legal for somebody to be fired from their place of work for being gay, in 29 U.S states.
Haylock/Del Rio is Richard, a science teacher who takes a job at a school in a middle-of-nowhere Texas town, Milford. After being fired for being gay, instigated by villainous vice-principal 'don't call me Debbie' Deborah (Rachel Dratch), Richard returns as Miss Bianca Del Rio. To teach the kids about science, and teach the adults a lesson...
This film contains examples of the following tropes:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Chuck is this initially to 'Bianca'.
- Actor Allusion: Rachel Dratch as someone who hates being called Debbie.
- Advertised Extra: The Movie Poster and DVD cover lists the main cast as Haylock, Dratch, Alan Cumming, Margaret Cho and RuPaul. Cumming and Cho only appear in one scene and RuPaul has a few short scenes as a weatherman on TV.
- All Gays Are Pedophiles: According to the principal at least, gays promote an 'unhealthy lifestyle'.
- All Gays are Promiscuous: Bailey. (He is played by Willam Belli!)
- Alpha Bitch: Keeley/Bathmat.... at least until her Heel–Face Turn. Carly (Deborah's teacher daughter) is a straighter example, even if she is a teacher rather than a student.
- Bathroom Stall of Overheard Insults: While in a bathroom stall, Bianca overhears Deborah and Carly plotting to get her fired and generally badmouthing her.
- Beneath Notice: The school janitor knows everything about the school, including that Bianca is a man, because she is constantly ignored. Literally beneath notice in some cases, as she is a little person; in one scene she startles Bianca by standing underneath the sinks.
- Celebrity Impersonator: Bailey as Lady Gaga. Also, Richard's cousin is apparently a Cher impersonator (clearly Chad Michaels was too busy to appear though!)
- Cruel Cheerleader: Keeley/Bathmat, though not the only cheerleader character, fits the stereotype to a T, being mean, popular, and airheaded.
- Deep South: The Texan town of Milford where Richard is fired from his teaching job for being gay and the Vice Principal expects Science classes to teach creationism.
- Drag Queen: As well as Richard as Bianca, we have his two besties Bailey and Stephen (Willam Belli and DJ "Shangela" Pierce), club singer Ambrosia Salad (Alyssa Edwards) and Joslyn Fox shows up pulling pints.
- Everyone Is Related: Richard is convinced this is the case in Milford.
- From New York to Nowhere: Richard moves from New York to the small town of Milford, Texas, and is very much a Fish out of Water as a gay, Hispanic New Yorker.
- The Fundamentalist: Vice Principal Deborah who does not like gays and believes children should be taught creationism. She's later revealed as a hypocrite as she has had numerous affairs with students.
- Good Parents: Karma's parents, after they are reunited they embrace their transgender daughter.
- Heel–Face Turn: Keeley (or 'Bathmat' as Bianca calls her) and the rest of the students are come around to liking and befriending Bianca by the end of the film, even after she reveals herself to have been Richard all along.
- Hidden Depths: Coach Chuck initially seems to be nothing more than a overly-macho, conservative jock asshole, but he becomes significantly more open-minded by the end of the film, totally accepting his transgender sister and embracing his attraction to Bianca after learning that she is actually a gay male drag queen.
- Homophobic Hate Crime: After Richard leaves his apartment, moving in with Karma, the house is trashed and painted with slurs. Also, Bobby, a gay student, is beat up every single day for being gay, and the school does nothing about it.
- Instant Expert: While Richard has friends who are drag queens, in the movie he is stated to have never tried being in drag before. When he decides to become Bianca to get revenge, he suddenly knows how to do his make-up and pad perfectly so as to pass as a "real" woman.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
- Chuck at first comes off as a bigoted horndog, but actually is very accepting of Bianca being a drag queen and of his transgender sister.
- Bianca herself is incredibly mean to her students, but she does it in order to make them better people, and after a time has a rapport with even Keeley.
- Karma Houdini: Well, duh!
- Magical Queer: Part of Richard's motivation for the whole ruse was that he wanted to teach the kids to not be bigoted. It works, and in the end the town becomes livelier and more accepting due to Bianca's presence.
- Mrs. Robinson: The legendary 'Miss First', a legendary experienced woman who takes all the high school boys virginities is revealed to be Homely Middle Aged Vice-Principal Deborah. Revealing this at the end of the movie to the school board during the teacher of year ceremony is part of the revenge Richard/Bianca gets on her.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: Gender-inverted; Karma is horrified by the idea of Bianca dating her brother Chuck, even after their reconciliation.
- My God, What Have I Done?: The students wanted to heckle Richard for being gay but didn't want him fired.
- The Nicknamer: Bianca gives a mean nickname to everyone in her class.
- Noodle Incident: Crazy things happen when Richard gets drunk. "Remember that time with the candlestick?"
- Plot Hole: Early on it's established that Milford County doesn't have any alcohol allowed. But later on, Chuck and Bianca get absolutely hammered on a date at the roller rink.
- Revenge Is a Dish Best Served: Richard/Bianca getting Karma to give Deborah the laxative chocolates.
- Revenge: Richard/Bianca getting revenge on Deborah for getting him fired is what drives the plot.
- Sadist Teacher: Bianca yells at her students, calls them mean names, and even pulls a chemistry prank that causes all the students who didn’t do their homework to end up with stained orange faces.
- Scary Stinging Swarm: Bianca gets her revenge on Deborah ultimately by hiding bees in her purse, causing the bees swarm to escape and attack her en masse.
- Transparent Closet: Bianca/Richard's student, Bobby, who’s obviously gay and gets beat up for that fact, despite not being out.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: The movie ends with a storybook narrated by Karma that says what happened to everyone. Spoofed, as it shows several characters, such as Bailey, doing mundane, humorous things five minutes after the time of the ending.
- Who's Laughing Now?: The plot of the movie.
