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Why so much hype?

Excellent but underrated film

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's all done in the shlockiest of settings but this is a powerful, educational film about the transsexual experience.It's never explained how these women got into the pageant but many of them are truly beautiful. The film respectfully explores a number of their backgrounds, complete with interviews with family members -- an element that adds considerable depth. (Unfortunately, very little is said about how these women manage to make a living. So much time and money is invested in conjuring a diva-worthy look, but the only jobs we hear about are make-up artist at a mall and a go-go dancer. The pageant winner only won $5,000, for God's sake! A little more reality would have been welcome.) The glittery Las Vegas pageant is hosted by Jahna Steele, who looks somewhat reminiscent of Carol Channing and Goldie Hawn -- ultra-glamorous but seemingly scarred about her large mouth, perhaps because of too many lip injections. I was sad to read (in Wikipedia) that Ms. Steele died shortly after this film was released, due to a drug overdose. (The film never mentions that she'd gained notoriety for having been outed as a transsexual and fired from her showgirl job.) Transexuals will often say they simply are women. Yet one is dazzled, in watching this film, by the sense of illusion that is created. Take pageant winner Mimi Marx, for example -- her look is no less than amazing. Although many tend to favor dresses that show as much breast as possible, many of the contestants look a lot better than anyone born with XX chromosomes, and it is truly amazing to see them strut their stuff in the talent portion. This film was far better than "Pageant," which I've also reviewed on IMDb. That documentary aimed for more of a female-impersonator vibe and was far more crude.I will not soon forget the incredible interview in this film of one pageant contestant's grandmother. Not only has the woman expressed pride in her former grandson, but she continues to seek God's help in understanding the transformation that has occurred. In all, a very moving experience.

The movie documents the first "Most Beautiful Transsexual Pageant" and is also a search for talent for a show on the strip. A few contestants are profiled about their personal journey from being born male to transitioning to female persona's or living as women. There could only be eight finalists and then the top three out of those eight. I wasn't surprised at the choice of the eight finalists or the ultimate winners; they looked like women and were very beautiful, which was the whole point of the pageant! Two of the contestants, both black men, were shown complaining about not having won, claiming it was racist and prejudice. I saw it as they didn't look like real women and frankly, were not really attractive in drag! They both looked like what they were; a man in a dress with makeup on (and very poorly applied makeup at that...blend, blend blend, ladies!). The most vocal about claiming racism was seen tottering out onto the stage, clearly not able to walk well in heels and did not look feminine or classy at all. From what I could tell, the individuals who presented as the most realistic "women" were the ones who had gone through surgical and hormonal transition. Some revealed that they had had complete surgery and were living as women with a vagina and breasts (and some other silicon reshaping), rather than some who had not had breasts, hormones and/or sex re-assignment surgery. There is a difference; drag is a man in a dress (or a woman dressed as a man), transsexual to me means someone who has changed their gender which usually requires hormones at the very least. You don't just shave and put on a dress to be a woman! I thought the most natural looking woman was Maria, the blond with a European accent, tasteful clothes and makeup. She looked like a woman and behaved like a classy woman, as opposed to what some contestants were seen doing on the Strip. In my opinion all of the contestants should be proud of themselves for living their lives as their hearts dictate but their presentation of beauty may not be what appeals to others, end of story! That doesn't mean it's a racial decision! For anyone who has seen RuPaul's Drag Race, the winners of the first two seasons have been black men! RuPaul is black. Does that mean his show is racially biased because both winners are black? There were some beautiful Asian, Hispanic and white contestants who looked very good in drag but they didn't win. Was it racism? Or was it that their beauty and ability to create the illusion of a female wasn't as good as that of the two men who won, who happened to be black? Not everything is about race, folks. Vegas drag shows are about beauty, illusion and looking as "real" as possible. If you look like a fat man in dress with horrible makeup, you probably aren't what they are looking for to cast as a showgirl! Over all, the movie is interesting and I found the stories of some of the contestants very touching. I would have liked to see more of the process of the contestants creating their female illusions and more of their costumes during the actual pageant. What we should all take from this movie is that these people are not freaks, they are people just like all of us and deserve respect and acceptance for trying to make their outside match what they feel on the inside. Some are people who are changing gender in all aspects physically, some are happy with a partial transition and live as women, some are happy to live as men who do drag. I don't care what's under the hood, I only care about how we treat each other in this life!

I caught this film on Showtime last week ... I guess I was kind of expecting the typical "train- wreck" treatment of the subject manner but actually found myself totally captivated and entertained. The women in this documentary were born male but are now all trying to become Las Vegas Showgirls. They show a lot of courage ... a lot more courage than most of people I know.The beginning of the movie is kind of weak but it really gets a lot better as you get to know the various girls in the contest.... I would have liked to have seen more of the lady that hosted the contest and the Vegas promoter who put the whole thing togetherAND for a documentary the music was surprisingly good as well !For what it is I give it four-stars!

It is amazing what you stumble upon when you wake up early Sunday morning. I had seen brief snippets of this and decided to give it a total view. I am certainly glad I did.These women were just amazing. Under the purview of the first Transsexual beauty pageant, you had the opportunity to see six of the women and their families and get to know what their childhoods were like and how they coped as males before they were transformed. You learned that there is some conflict between pre-op and post-op transsexuals. You learned to appreciate another part of what makes up this human race.Were they beautiful? I would have no problem hooking up with most of them (post-ops, of course). A really great show.