Peoria Babylon

Peoria Babylon is a 1997 American comedy directed by Steven Diller. It premiered at the Chicago Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival in November 1997. The cast features David Drake and Ann Cusack.

Plot
Candy and her gay friend Jon are owners of a financially troubled art gallery in Peoria, Illinois. After exhausting their savings, they concoct a devious scheme in order to save the gallery in this screwball comedy.

They team up with a hunky con artist, the mob and a lesbian porn queen, but at the end little is left standing but their friendship.

Cast

 * David Drake as Jon Ashe
 * Ann Cusack as Candy Dineen
 * Matthew Pestorius as Matthew Perretti
 * Paul Adelstein as Brad Kessler
 * The Lady Bunny as Octavia DiMare
 * Marilyn Pittman as Doris Kessler
 * Dan Turek as Bill
 * Deane Clark as Raul Kessler
 * Michael Hagedorn as Ted Jamison
 * William McGough as Detective Dillon
 * Andrew Carrillo as Cop
 * Anna Markin as Tina Rotblatt
 * David Gould as Stanley
 * Tom Ciappa as Private Dick
 * William Graham Cole as Swensen
 * Helen Caro as Adele
 * Kel Mitchell as Beave
 * Jeff Kenny as Willie
 * Sam Perry as Minister
 * Hank Donat as Poet
 * Nikki Lewis as Sandy
 * Lou Wynhoff as Museum Guard
 * Ted Lyde as Wayne
 * Wendy Lucker as Reporter
 * Tom Holycross as Cop #2
 * Dan Callahan as Drag Queen
 * M.J. Loheed as German Tourist
 * Aja as Drag Queen #2
 * Tom Phisella as Hick Man
 * Rita Symons as Hick Woman
 * Phyllis Diller as Painting Owner
 * Lora Adams as Angry Art Patron

Reception
The Chicago Tribune called it "…wonderfully funny…charming all the way around." (November 7, 1997) and the Chicago Sun-Times said that it was "Wacky and witty." (November 14, 1997).

In Media Audiences and Identity: Self-Construction in the Fan Experience, Steve Bailey states that "Peoria Babylon, aims its satire at the world of high art and the peculiarities of the international art market".