September 22 is the 20th anniversary of Showgirls, a film that stands among the great gay icons of camp films. Released in 1995 with the then-scandalous (and basically unheard of since) rating of NC-17, a market-friendly way of saying “This should be on late-night Cinemax,” the film promised to be a titillating look at the seductive and sexy world of Las Vegas life.
It was, of course, a big flop, mostly because the script was stupid and the acting was crazy. But if nothing else, the actors seemed to be having a good time, unaware of the fact that they were saying their lines wrong with every word that came out of their mouths. That’s where the magic lies. Much like Rocky Horror Picture Show, another energetic catastrophe, Showgirls simply can’t help itself from being fun.
Perhaps this is why the movie is so beloved by the gay community: after years of finding refuge in high school drama clubs and performing awful plays, and then watching drag queens lip sync for the masses in dirty bars, gay men understand what it feels like to give everything you’ve got on stage, even if the end result is terrible. Like the drag queen who high-kicks as hard as she can but can only get her leg up to her waist, Elizabeth Berkeley really tried. And for that, the gays will always love her.
In honor of the 20th Anniversary of this glorious artistic achievement, GayCities took a pilgrimage to Las Vegas to revisit iconic filming locations of Showgirls. Most of the filming locations are gone, but our writer did stumble upon a pool full of cute guys.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Also, Slate created an artistic analysis of the film. The narrator, a rather lazy-voiced gentleman who mumbles his way through his remarks, obviously loves Nomi Malone as much as anyone could. Although it takes a special type of fan to create a video analysis of Showgirls, and for that, we salute him.
Ronn Schneider
Gays will love , maybe People will love and not address a group, like Gays.. maybe people will like this
Milton Appleby
Nice generalization of gay men.
Alistair Corvin
Not this one, never watched it, don’t really care to.
Liam Barnes
Not this gay man. Such a stupid waste of film.
Avery Alvarez
No.
boring
I say this without a shred of irony: Greatest achievement in cinematic – no – HUMAN history next to Bad Boys II.
Fred W. Matautia
When this film. Came out. I watched the film. 3 X’s. To make sure, I understood. It. Great film.
Tobi
Oh, dear, dear Mr. Renzi, you think Rocky Horror is a “catastrophe”? Really?!! Unlike Showgirls, which is pure trash camp, Rocky is iconic camp, and actually holds the record for the longest-running theatrical release, ever. Yup, forty years later, it’s still packing them in! It was also selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
Hal-James Pederson
I really doubt that, but then I’ve met the actress.
bottom250
Ohhh my god ewwwwwww