written by Juice / photos by Juice

An instant camp classic, Showgirls is a love or hate film. Failing miserably in the theaters, the first dvd release was a non-anamorphic barebones edition that amazingly enough...sold extremely well.

Knowing that we, the loving fans of Showgirls, wanted more than just a simply anamorphic re-release, they decided to treat us like the paying clientele we are. Since we are (in our own minds at least) V.I.P.'s, this release comes to us complete with classy extras such as nipple-covering tassels and shot glasses. What more could we ask for? A red fuzzy interior, drinking games, oh how the list goes on. Sit down and relax while I treat you to a Champagne Room review of this V.I.P. boxed set.

When you pull the top off the box, the first thing you see is a folded poster, which rests on top of everything. As it always seems with posters in my reviews...I'll get to it later! For now let's look at the way the contents are layered inside of the box.

Sitting in faux bright red velvet are two shot glasses, a deck of cards, and the DVD case. Pull out the DVD case, and you find the playing cards that come with the deck. Remove the playing cards, and sitting below that, in a specially shaped area, is the blindfold

Amazingly enough, even with all of the extra contents, this is a ONE DVD set. ONE! True, the DVD does come with some sexy extras, such as Scores girls showing all the female viewers the proper way to do a lap dance, but it's pretty amazing that there is only one DVD with extras. Reportedly Elizabeth Berkley, when she heard that this V.I.P. Edition was being created, offered to be interviewed for it for $2500.

She was turned down.

Now let's get to the party! First up, we have our set of playing cards, fairly generic, but they do come in a nice black cardboard case that has a window in the front revealing the Showgirls "logo".

The shot glasses are nice, heavy, thick glass, with the Showgirls "logo" printed in black on them. I thought about including an image of me doing a shot and playing "pin the tassels" on the poster, but realized that might come across as lewd and indecent. I'll have to play those games in the privacy of my own home!

The blindfold, also supposed to be used for the "pin the tassels" game is made of a black, matte paper, with the Showgirls "logo" printed in red. It has alligator snaps to hold the elastic band which goes over your head when you put it on. Very sassy.

The tassels are clear plastic with red threads hanging from them. In theory, you put these on the poster while playing the game. I of course had to try them on myself, and, with a little bit of saliva, they stick like a charm! Sorry, sorry, again, no pictures allowed!

The poster! A large, airbrushed images of our favourite star, striking a seductive pose with her arms above her and her chest thrust out before her. This is to be hung on your wall while you all play, blindfolded and doing shots of Sprite, "pin the tassels". I can't say it's a very appealing poster, but I guess it does it's job as a game prop. It's printed on a high gloss paper in full color.

Next we have some lovely playing cards. The are large, about the size of the DVD snapcase, and are printed on paper with a gloss laminate. They display various scenes from the movie on the front, and come with drinking games posted on the back. The funny part about the cards...in bold letters for each game, it states in all caps bold letters "NONALCOHOLIC" when it refers to using a beverage. What a ton of fun it must be to drink shots of Sprite while playing your Showgirls drinking game!

Sure, this is a pretty cheesy set. But so is the movie. And the extras may seem a bit extreme, but then again, so is the movie! The price is low, the shot glasses fully functional, the anamorphic DVD leaps and bounds above the original...if you don't mind a little bit of sleaze in your home, then this set belongs in your case with the rest!