SHOWGIRLS

Friday, June 20, 8:30 p.m. | At first, this NC-17 tale about stripper Nomi Malone (Elizabeth Berkley), who dreams of becoming a top showgirl, was roundly rejected, with USA Today calling the film “as hoary as it is whore-y.” But, as Sontag notes, “What was banal can, with the passage of time, become fantastic,” and SHOWGIRLS has now been embraced for being “perfectly bad,” and entirely camp. The film’s solemnity set against gaudy Las Vegas, Berkley’s extreme performance, the backstage melodrama of the Stardust Resort and Casino has enshrined SHOWGIRLS as camp canon. Content consideration: contains a scene of sexual assault.

Awards & Nominations

Winner - Worst Picture, Worst Actress (Elizabeth Berkley), Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, Razzie Awards

Summer Camp | June 2025 Specialty Series

In 1964, the essayist Susan Sontag wrote “Notes on Camp,” where she endeavored to define “camp,” an artistic and cultural sensibility. The essence of camp, Sontag wrote, is “its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration.” In the 60 years since that publication (a brisk, 14-page read), camp has evolved and flourished: in drag culture, the queer community, and the fashion and music industries. In cinema, camp can be found in the extravagance of a sweeping melodrama or the movie that’s so-bad-it's-actually-brilliant, a film may read as “campy” because of its opulence or extreme performances, or we might call a movie a camp classic because its earnest seriousness makes us laugh all the way to the credits. For Summer Camp, we abide by one of Sontag’s most salient points: “Camp is, above all, a mode of enjoyment, of appreciation—not judgement.” Pack your bags, we’re going camping!

The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu