‘A Deeper Love: The Story of Miss Peppermint’: A Film Review
Peppermint has a new fan in me.
Featured Image courtesy of A Deeper Love: The Story of Miss Peppermint.
A Deeper Love: The Story of Miss Peppermint is a beautiful documentary spanning from 2016 to 2025, showcasing the light and love of drag star, actress, advocate, and trans woman, Peppermint. Directed by Oriel Pe’er, we follow Peppermint from her humble beginnings before RuPaul’s Drag Race to her navigation with fame during and after the award-winning reality TV show. Featuring Laverne Cox, Bob the Drag Queen, Sasha Velour, Shea Couleé, and more, this personal documentary is heartwarming, inspirational, and a true testament to Peppermint’s determination..
If you’ve never tuned in to Drag Race, you may not know the significance of Peppermint’s presence on the show. As the first openly trans woman to compete on Drag Race, she was really nervous about what her gender identity would mean for her drag fame. But clearly, it did not deter it. In fact, after Peppermint, there have been at least 36 openly trans drag performers who have competed in the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise.
The documentary was very moving; cataloging her identity alongside a close network of trans individuals, Peppermint is a true inspiration and a delight. She is a bright star even in dark times; her smile and warmth seem to comfort her friends as well as many of her fans. Honestly, I didn’t know much about her before watching this documentary, but I can say she has a new fan in me.
While the documentary was raw, I do wish it had gone a little deeper. Its impressive efforts to chronicle 10 years of Peppermint’s journey limited the film’s ability to dig deeply into many topics because there was just so much ground to cover. But that being said, producers Marc Smolowitz, Oriel Pe’er, Bob the Drag Queen, and Elliot Page definitely knew what they were doing, helping and investing in this project. It really is an inspiring story.
When introducing NewFest at the opening night, executive director David Hatkoff said that joy and suffering are not separate; joy is what gets us through the suffering. A Deeper Love: The Story of Miss Peppermint and Peppermint herself truly embody this. Her light is palpable, even in darker times.
While it is not on streaming right now, you can follow along on their website to see their next festival screenings across the country.
