Vegas in Space (1991) Poster

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6/10
As Tacky as a 1970s Jewelry Box Explosion
gftbiloxi30 July 2005
In the far distant future, a theft of priceless jewels with mysterious properties lead three agents to set down on a planet to investigate--but alas, they are men, and it's a "women only planet." What to do? Why, pop a pill and turn into women, of course!

Not all the performers are men in drag--the cast is filled out with quite a few busty-babes who are more than capable of giving their genderbending co-stars a run for their tassels--but if you enjoy drag queens, VEGAS IN SPACE is the movie for you. And for the most part, the male-to-female performers are expert in their work--which ranges ultra-high camp to occasional bouts of good old fashioned tacky. The script is silly, the cinematography, sets, special effects, and virtually everything else about the film is cheap. But the performers make it fun, with Doris Fish heading the line up. Watch out the Queen of Police doesn't bust ya for wearing beige! Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer
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4/10
Campy silly fun
AlanBryan21125 November 2002
I first saw this on USA Nite Flight years ago. I never expected to find it on DVD (a Troma Release) at Best Buy!!!!

Yes, all the actors are men in drag (right?) and it's silly silly fun. Hey, how many movies have u seen made in someone's apartment? How many movies have you seen using make-up and nail polish bottles to resemble a minature cityscape? (please recall that Star Trek (original tv show) used European Salt and Pepper shakers as medical gear!)

This movie is silly bad and was made over 7 or 8 years. It's FUN.

So put in your fave wig and enjoy.

Comes with 3 silly Troma Trailers and some other funny extras.
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Three Words: YOU BETTER WORK!!
PowerpuffNita211 August 2001
There are basically two types of b-movies. Some of the aforementioned film you never want to see in life...EVER! Then there are the rare exceptions, the ones that are so bad they're actually entertaining. "Vegas In Space" fits into the latter category. Sure, the effects aren't exactly CGI-produced, and the dialogue isn't really Oscar-worthy, but who cares? It is a fun little movie that I would like to see over and over again. It has that "Barbarella"-"Valley of the Dolls" vibe to this film, which I absolutely love. It doesn't try to change the world or solve any problems; it just tells you sit down, relax, and look fabulous doing it.
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2/10
Has a tendency to drag a bit
pinbyte22 January 2006
I watched this movie because, if I recall correctly, it was on a worst 100 movies list somewhere. It was my hope that it would be soooo bad, it would be good. As it turned out, I almost couldn't get through it.

I've enjoyed other movies with drag queens (eg. Priscilla), and was hoping that the campiness alone would be the redeeming quality of Vegas In Space. As it turns out, the story about the making of the movie, which is both a triumph and a tragedy, is what is interesting.

In that respect, I am pleased that Doris and crew finished their apartment-made movie. It did provide a few laughs. I especially liked the 'set' where they landed their space ship. That, and the fact that I was able to endure the whole thing gives it 2/10.
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3/10
How Far Would You Go...?
GuyCC5 January 2003
To save the universe? Would you change sex? Alright, I give, but that's what the tag line says, so I'm just going along with what marketing offers.

Being that Troma distributes the film, you know it's going to take a turn for the low-budget, bizarre screaming for play on MST3K. And if the show was still around, I'm sure they would have eventually covered it.

So a crew of effemminitely burly "dudes" (as they refer to themselves quite often - yet I don't refer to myself as a "dude" or even girls as "chicks" - must be an '80's California thing) change into women to stop some sort of naughtiness about jewel thievery on a pleasure planet. So it's a plausible (if goofy) concept to get to the planet, and all of the men on the ship seem perfectly fine with becoming women, so I take it this is a pretty easygoing crew of galaxy savers.

And yet, when they get there, the more they stay, the crew seems less and less interested in saving the universe than they do in exchanging fashion tips. And while this may be all well and good for some, even in their new forms, I would think that saving the planet from destruction would be just a little more important than a song and dance number.

I never expected this to be a serious film (I don't think the filmmakers did, either), and given that they apparently did this all in one apartment is pretty impressive. And there are a few funny one-liners scattered throughout the film. But I think this was a film meant to highlight the leading actor/actresses more than anything else. It just seemed to run more and more out of steam by the time the movie was over, and the chase scenes... well, they were definitely there.

So as a "cheesy movie", it excels. It would be great to have a group of friends over and poke fun at it (even if the end scenes start to drag, and why does the crew never mention anything about an option to return to their original selves?). Otherwise, this is a film that has to be taken with a grain of salt. Or something.
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1/10
Watch it... IF YOU CAN!!!
mr-valentine17 November 2007
Warning: Spoilers
My friends and I would literally have contests to see who could finish the movie... Out of the dozens who tried, my friend Calvin and I managed to do so, but not without some mental effort. The fact that the makers of this film shot it in one apartment does not justify it as being the most painful cinematic experience of my life. It was horribly shot, acted, and had no real plot. If I remember correctly, women play the men, until they have a sex change by taking a pill, and then the men play women? I remember that was a little... stupid, I think is the word I'm looking for? And towards the end of the movie, there's this pointless 10-15 minute "dream sequence" which was SO EXCRUCIATING!!! My recommendation is only to people who would like to see who can finish it without stopping. And if you can do that, then I dare you to watch it again. Write me if you do. :-)
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1/10
Cult Classic...yes. Good move...no.
mostlystrange3 June 2006
Vegas in Space tells the story of a crew of men who band together and change sex to save the all female planet of Clitoris (in the Beaver Quadrant)from something. I still have no idea what this something is. For a movie to be good it must meet some standards. These standards being.

1. There must be a problem and some kind of solution.

2. The characters must be well drawn out.

3. Something has to happen.

4. It can't suck.

Vegas in Space met none of these standards.

There is no real problem, and therefore no solution in this movie. You learn in the beginning that there is a problem on planet Clitoris, yet you never really know what the problem is. Even the people of planet Clitoris don't know what the problem. They all reply by saying "oh there are so many problems". Because they can't even present these problems, then there can be no solution.

There must be some amount of character development/personality in a movie to make it entertaining. This movie throws in an interesting twist, the protagonist changes sex from male to female. Let me say that this, in no way, effects the plot. The main character would have made the same decision whether male or female. The protagonist also has no development through the entire movie. He/she never loses or gain anything (except jubblies), never learns a lesson, and never dies (unfourtunetly). There is no character personality/development in this movie, proving it's awfulness.

Something must happen in a movie to make it worth watching. Case and point, nothing happens.

Lastly, and most logical, for a movie to be good, it can't suck. Let me just say this movie is possibly the worst movie I have ever seen.

The deepest pit in Hades is reserved for for Vegas in Space.
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10/10
Fabulous!
tfrazier13 July 2004
Very cute film, with possibly the lowest budget ever. Many B movies try to make their low budget as realistic as possible, with Vegas In Space the idea was to make it look as campy as possible. Paper spaceships flying on strings over a table of perfume bottles which is supposed to represent the city of Vegas on the planet Clitoris.

The highlight is Queen Veneer (queen of Clitorian police.) This wicked little draq queen has all the other queens of Vegas shaking in fear every time she gives them the evil eye. "The only real crimes here are crimes of fashion, enough to keep me offended....and busy!"

Queen Veneer and Space Core's finest must find the thief who stole the jewels which keeps the planet's orbit stable. Who in Vegas could it be?? You also get a lesson in the history of "drag," dating back to the first dragladyke who thawed out during the "facial" age. Funny lines and wonderful dialogue make Vegas In Space one spacey, camped out funny movie!

"glamour first!, glamour last!, glamour ALWAYS!!!"
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7/10
A rare gem: a movie which is so intentionally bad that it's really neat!
carpbear-16 February 2022
The total budget for this movie was about $1000, and it still took eight years to make. This movie has it all: cities of the future made with perfume bottles and fingernail polish bottles; earthquakes caused by shaking shaking a table; embarrassingly tacky sets, a ridiculous plot, and especially cringe-worthy writing -- then this movie is for you!

The movie takes place on the resort planet Clitoris, in the far-flung Beaver Galaxy, where only women are allowed. Several important pieces of Girlinium have been stolen from the Empress Nueva Gabor. Girlinium is a very rare gem found only in the caverns of the fourth moon of the distant planet Girlina. Girlina helps the planet maintain its delicate orbit surrounding its sun.

If you like movies which are so unbelievably bad that they become really neat (think: "Queen.of Outer Space" with Zsa Zsa Gabor) you might just like this. Don't go into this movie with any expectations of the profound ("Being There") or scenes which are so wrought that they bring tears to your eyes ("Ordinary People", "Steel Magnolias") or high drama ("Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"). This is camp of the highest order. Treat it accordingly.
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8/10
"Wigstock" and "Priscilla" go to the stars, to fun effect.
r0der1ck2 September 2001
This is a film about which people tend to feel strongly: either very good, or very bad (just check out the voting summary for evidence of this). In my opinion, it's very good, but I stumbled into it at a gay film festival, so my first viewing was perhaps in just the right place at just the right time. Overall, I would have difficulty recommending this film to anyone but fans of the bizarre, fans of drag and fans of bad sci-fi. There is some very (intentionally) hilarious dialogue in this, much of which is made better by the effective delivery -- the cast doesn't do much nudge-nudge, wink-winking of the audience, which would have made the high camp and innuendo too heavy-handed to be funny. Instead, this comes off as a sort of drag homage to the campy formative years of modern science fiction, the same era during which both drag and gay rights came into their own. An attentive viewer will find nods to Star Trek, Lost in Space, Space: 1999, Battlestar Galactica, Red Dwarf and even the original Buck Rogers serials. Unfortunately, some terrible sound editing and not-so-hot line delivery requires the viewer to pay close attention or they miss what important plot-points there are (such as the women-only restriction on the planet, something a previous reviewer clearly missed as he criticized the crew's gender-change as having no storyline cause). Overall, this movie gets serious props for the costuming and the creative use of an obviously limited budget, the turning-on-their-ear of many of the sexist conventions of early sci-fi and for being in many spots a carefully crafted spoof of a genre. While it's definitely bad, it has fun being bad, and I have fun watching it. The song over the closing credits is fantastic.
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8/10
fun "bad" movie
vitamanb10 September 2006
a true "b" movie if ever there was...

a fun romp with drag queens in outer space (i've always felt they were somewhat other worldly anyway). i only wish i had been in s.f. during filming, i would have like to have met these guys before they passed... from the cheesy sets to the dialogue (reminds me of the guys i worked with the 4 summers i worked on fire island) this is a movie to play as background at a party or have a campy get together with white trash hors d'oeuvres (cheese balls, onion dip, that sort of thing served with 3 foot martinis) and watch the glamour meter rise!!!

glamour first, glamour last, glamour always!
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10/10
Underrated and Fun, Fun, Fun!!!
charliethunders9 March 2012
Sometimes I wonder if our expectations (in this country) are way too high in this day and age because I think Vegas in Space is a great movie and beauty is obviously in the eye of the beholder!!! This is obviously a lower budget film, but the music, acting, storyline, lighting and decor are, in my humble opinion, fantastic!!! The costuming and lighting particularly stand out to me as well and I wish there was a soundtrack available. Great original music, humor and special effects equal a highly entertaining experience in my book. Thanks to cast, crew and the Troma team for another work which may be hated by some and loved by many but will never be considered mediocre or average!!!
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10/10
A Legendary Drag Queen Classic!!!
RWFanMS30 December 2005
Of all the B-grade, camp films I've come across this has to be the queen (pun intended) of them all! With production values and acting that make Ed Wood look like Peter Jackson, this has to be one of the worst movies ever made and everyone involved knew it to be so. From the opening theme to the climactic scene at the end, Vegas in Space is filled with fabulous one-liners and absolutely hilarious costumes and characters. The late Doris Fish and Miss X, both drag icons of a bygone era and sorely missed, are both fabulous and disturbing in the same breath. This movie is not to be missed by any fan of gay camp culture or just plain good old-fashioned bad movies. As Princess Angel says in the film, "Glamour first, glamour last, glamour always!"
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10/10
Essence of s-f cheese!
Mr_Shaggs24 December 2006
Ladies and gentleman, please give an ovation to the most stinky piece of cheese released by Troma! A group of agents is ordered to check what's happening in "Vegas In Space". Because men are not allowed to enter there, they change their sex through pills. After they arrived they are introduced to the emmperrores, who tells them that all the problems are caused by theft of royal diamonds... And here normal plot ends. Rest of the film is set of scenes somehow connected with the problem of a stolen jewelery. Sometimes it's very difficult to find out what and why something is happening.

Whole movie is a mix of typical for 60's s-f and transsexual&narcotic kitsch of the 80's. Paper spaceships, buildings made of saltshakers and hordes of women, who's look remind me of Boy George or other transvestite singer. I wonder how much money did they spend on a makeup. A lot of sudden zooms with coils in a background, extremely colorful clothes, characters and places intensifies this amount of kitsch. But the best is moment after 50th minute. Pure, narcotic surrealism with music similar to the Gary Numan's. Also we can see a robot version of gore (really funny), fighting with a Martian for parking place and party with freaky dancing moves (as for 60's). I have to admit (but it'll be blasphemy) sometimes this movie beats all Ed Wood's movies! "Vegas In Space" is essence of kitsch in the s-f movies. Director should get Oscar for a perfect connecting 60's and 80's climate. MUST SEE!
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Hmm...
-614 December 1998
Well, not surprisingly, this movie was a smash hit in gay/drag circles throughout the U.S., maybe even the world. All I know is that it sucks. It's intentionally bad, but bad nonetheless, and so, it being my sworn, solemn duty to watch the worst crap I can, I watched it. Futuristic cities made out of fingernail polish bottles. Earthquakes caused by violently shaking the camera, which appears to be handheld. Men inexplicably change into women for no other apparent reason than to just do it. No real reason for it written into the plot. It's as though it's a must-do thing before you beam down to a planet, change your sex. Who knew. All this, thrown in there with intensely gaudy sets, neon everything, and a bit of drag psychedelia too, this movie is good for just about anyone, gay, straight, drag, whatever, who loves bad movies. My friend has had his copy that he rented for almost 2 years. He doesn't like it, he just wants to keep people from destroying themselves through watching it. (I think he secretly enjoys the movie and that's why he's had it for so long) That, and it's funny to keep a movie you rented for 2 years, evading various court summons and arrest warrants.
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10/10
Amazing
gleavell-9801912 July 2021
This is genuinely the best movie i have ever seen and is now my favorite movie. It's so funny and just over all amazing. Acting is 10/10.
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YUCK!!!!!!!!!
DavidAndBeecher6 March 2003
You know that a film is not meant to be taken seriously when the cast list includes names like Doris Fish, Miss X and Jennifer Blowdryer. This no budget opus, shot in somebody's apartment with a hand held camera, is clearly meant to be a goof. A gay/camp/drag homage to Ed Wood, and to ALL bad grade Z sci-fi films, it was clearly made by people who think they're really clever. They are not.

The film tries so hard to be campy and bad that it succeeds beyond it's wildest dreams. Every single double entendre falls flat, as do all the other jokes, which seemed childish and forced. What makes Ed Wood films so charming now was Wood's total sincerity in his work, and the fact that he had NO IDEA that he was making bad films.

Vegas In Space was made by trendy hipsters who think their inside jokes and deliberately cheap production values are the last word in chic, downtown humor. That they are so impressed with their own fabulousness is painfully obvious and annoying.
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