But it *is* different. A movie starring straight white men (+ 1 Wesley Snipes) in drag would be seen as normal today. No different than a “Mrs. Doubtfire” or “Victor Victoria” or countless other pulls on the same yarn.
Straight white men are capable of anything, and anything they do can be normalized. White men can grow dreads and be hippies, potheads, surfer/skater bros. Normal. White men can dress in seersucker suits and pinstripes and bowler hats or wear paisley. Normal. White men can join the Peace Corps or date anyone of any color or any culture and it’s normal. Hell, even gay white men are pretty normalized now.
But the minute you recast “Wong Foo” with real trans people, or more people of color, or people who are non-conforming/non-binary offscreen—that’s when you’ll have a problem from conservatives. It isn’t just that you are putting the content out there for consumption. It’s that someone had the audacity to normalize these “others”.