After having just watched Pink Angels, I went online to find some commentary on the movie. Most of what I have read seems to be the same. I think I can offer a slightly different take on this film.
From a cinematic standpoint, the movie makes little to no sense. We are introduced in an opening scene that seems to not be related to anything else, even though there is a point in the movie where you may, like I did, have an "a-ha" moment thinking that the movie has returned to the moment it opened. You couldn't be more wrong. There are clips interspersed throughout to introduce The General as well.
What fascinates me most about this movie is mostly the volumes that are spoken about our society and the writers through the film. On the surface, it's about a group of cross dressing bikers out to attend a gala in L.A. The movie seems to follow their journey while also introducing us to The General in a completely different setting. During their trip they encounter a hitchhiker, overbearing cops, and a gang of straight bikers.
If you watch the movie and observe the characters, a few interesting traits show up. Amongst themselves, the bikers act like absolute queens. When in public, they make a point of putting up a "butch" front to hide their presumed homosexuality. Given when this was made, that made sense. You didn't celebrate being gay, you hid it. I think someone involved in the film relied on a lot of arcane stereotypes when putting this together.
Like a lot of things in this film, even their sexual orientation can be questioned. In a scene in which hookers are brought out to party, they engage in a weird comical sexual romp with some of the girls along with the straight bikers. Some of them do, anyway. Was this intentional, or just a slip by the movie makers?
The combination of cross dressing and homosexuality struck me as particularly interesting because there is not necessarily a correlation between the two. You can enjoy dressing up in women's clothing (Ed Wood) and be perfectly straight.
So if you want to enjoy a nonsensical romp with one of the strangest endings in any movie, this is a great choice. If you have read other reviews, you've already read about the ending. When you watch this movie, there is no way you can see this coming. Random? Possibly. It's hard to tell if the ending was patched together at the last minute or planned. I do think there is a chance, given how the characters are portrayed in the film, that it's also meant as a statement about how they felt about the gay lifestyle, for lack of a better phrase.
