Short Films by the Gay Girls Riding Club

Writer-director Frank Henenlotter, the mind behind the cult genre films Basket Case (1982) and Brain Damage (1988), put his personal touch on Mary Shelley’s classic tale, dishing out cartoonish gore and high-level camp in equal doses. Aspiring mad scientist Jeffrey Franken (James Lorinz) accidentally kills his wife and sets about finding a way to bring her back to life. Realizing he will need spare body parts, he lures in a group of sex workers with his new drug, “super crack.” The onslaught of gross-out body horror gags, absurdly campy humor, and surreal sensibilities are all elevated by Patty Mullen’s committed performance as the titular suburban housewife with the impulses of a dozen streetwalkers coursing through her reanimated corpse.

The first big-screen collaboration of mid-century comedy duo Elaine May and Mike Nichols, as writer and director, was this adaptation of the 1978 French film La Cage aux Folles. Armand (Robin Williams) and Albert (Nathan Lane), a gay couple who run a popular drag show, learn that Armand’s son is engaged to the daughter of a conservative politician (Gene Hackman). A comedy of errors ensues when the future in-laws must meet for dinner and Armand and Albert feel pressured to hide the true nature of their relationship. One of the few films released by a major studio to have a gay couple at the forefront, The Birdcage transcends traditional definitions of family, with plenty of fabulously funny moments along the way.

Tobe Hooper (Poltergeist, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) directed this lavish sci-fi horror film about a spaceship populated with beautiful humanoid aliens found hidden within Halley’s Comet. Steve Railsback is properly unhinged as the hapless astronaut who unwittingly unleashes the intergalactic menace upon the Earth, with droll support from Oscar nominees Peter Firth (Equus) and Frank Finlay (Othello), and Mathilda May playing an enticing space vampire. A B movie with A-list production values, Lifeforce features visual effects by Oscar-winner John Dykstra (Star Wars) and a full-bodied score by the legendary Henry Mancini, conducting the London Symphony Orchestra.

Though entirely fictional, John Waters’s dark comedy Serial Mom satirizes the true-crime genre. Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner) is a suburban housewife often compared to June Cleaver. But the charming Beverly is secretly prone to murdering her neighbors for perceived crimes against polite society, such as wearing white after Labor Day and neglecting to rewind a rented videotape. While on trial, Beverly becomes a media sensation and is even set to be portrayed by Suzanne Somers in a made-for-television movie—the very kind Waters is spoofing. Though it was not a success at the box office upon release, Serial Mom has since become a cult classic.

Rudy Ray Moore is the Disco Godfather, a retired cop who runs a discotheque where he can be found in shiny, deep V-neck outfits and faux eyelashes as he hypes the crowd with his irresistible charm. This offbeat Blaxploitation feature follows the journey of Tucker Williams (Moore) as he traces some drug dealers after his cousin, Bucky (Julius J. Carry III), starts “tripping” on angel dust and is hospitalized. The anti-drug plot unfolds under the waves of a disco-infused soundtrack with exuberant visuals, mashed with kung-fu action. Disco Godfather may not offer much clarity, but it does promise an amazing—and sincerely weird—time at the movies.

Triple feature screening: Secret Ceremony in 35mm, Boom! in 35mm IB Technicolor, X Y & Zee

Drag queens Vida Boheme (Patrick Swayze), Noxeema Jackson (Wesley Snipes), and Chi-Chi Rodriguez (John Leguizamo) embark on a cross-country road trip in their 1967 Cadillac DeVille convertible to compete in the Miss Drag Queen of America pageant in Hollywood. When their car breaks down, they end up stranded in Snydersville, a small conservative town in middle America. Amongst the camp, To Wong Foo is a heartfelt story that demonstrates the power of empathy and acceptance while highlighting the importance of community and solidarity.

Director Paul Verhoeven and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas followed up the international success of their 1992 thriller Basic Instinct with this lavish drama set against the glitzy and tawdry backdrop of the Las Vegas entertainment world. Elizabeth Berkley is Nomi, a fearless young woman determined to make it in show business at any cost, and Gina Gershon is Cristal Connors, the star whose throne Nomi is scheming to claim. Arguably Verhoeven’s most controversial film, and the rare studio film to be released with an NC-17 rating, Showgirls has found an enthusiastic cult following in the nearly thirty years since its premiere.

Writer Lona Williams pulled from her personal experiences growing up in small-town Minnesota to write this satirical takedown of beauty pageants and the extreme lengths contestants will go to win the coveted crown. Director Michael Patrick Jann, member of the cult comedy troupe The State, employed his natural sensibilities in dark and absurd humor to capture the world of fanatical would-be beauty queens in a mockumentary style. Though not a box office success, the film has gained a dedicated cult following due to its hilariously sharp social commentary and decidedly exaggerated performances from its wonderful cast of characters, full of recognizable faces.