Shampoo Horns

Why are so many of the films made for the gay market so bloody awful? Every once in a while we all trot along dutifully to see a film that will supposedly illuminate another aspect of our culture. Nearly every time we are treated to a parade of cliches, lousy acting and terrible dialogue. Oh yes and a bit of sex and pretty boys to keep us watching. Occasionally a gem like Gregg Araki's "Living End" will catch us off guard, but usually we trundle home feeling cheated and a little sad.

This film will make you feel very sad. A bunch of desperate drug-addicted drag queens and various hangers-on lurch through a night of debauchery in a night-club - while an HIV positive drag queen pontificates from far on the magic of gaydom. If this film is intending to be an anti-gay film it succeeds admirably. It makes our culture look drug-dependent, witless and boring. One or two of the cast members have talent, but mostly they are pretty lousy. Surprisingly it is quite well shot and seems to have had a decent budget - why then was money not spent on assembling a better cast and on writing a better script?

In terms of cinematography, scripting, and acting this film would rate about a 5. For the average viewer, I doubt that they would finish it, let alone "get it". I loved it however, as a great b-movie/midnight underground trash flick. It's a parade of weirdos, for the most part they are playing screen versions of themselves (the infamous gaggle of 90's NYC club kids including Michael Alig and James st. James) in fabulously outrageous outfits snorting/shooting/swallowing drugs at Disco 2000 in the old limelight nightclub. It's full of snarky drag queens and whorish druggies throwing shade and talking trash. More than a few die. The plot is a little disjointed, basically a fictional night-in-the-life-of that follows each character as they mingle in the club, interact with one another, and endure the horrible things that keep happening, sometimes branching off into other segments or breaking the fourth wall. So tacky, I loved it! I doubt you will find a copy that doesn't look grainy. This movie is pretty rare and hard to come by, "footage" of a legendary underground club scene that has since then self-destructed and his movie shows why.