by Benjamin Leonard, Best Boy, Nikk Nelson and Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport

With You Don't Nomi (a documentary discussing Showgirls and its impact on the world) about to be released, there is no better time than now to get acquainted (or reacquainted) with Showgirls. MJ’s Best Boy introduced Old Sport to Showgirls a few years back and it seemed only fitting to continue this tradition with fellow MJers. Late one Saturday night, Nikk Nelson’s world was rocked when he agreed to watch the flick with Best Boy and Old Sport. Fortunately for you, our dear MJ readers we documented our experience to share with you our thoughts of varying perspectives on the notorious (yet acclaimed in our opinion) Paul Verhoeven (master)piece in this special article we have deemed… SHOWGIRLS SHAKEDOWN.

Best Boy (BB): Showgirls released to theaters September 22, 1995. I had just started my freshman year at a small, secluded university that focused on Engineering, Mining and Forestry. The enrollment was 3:1 male to female. Collectively, we went out in droves to see this film. The theater was sold out, or close to, for a week straight. We were all a bunch of gross, sweaty, teen dudes dying to see Saved by the Bell's Jessie Spano get naked and wild. We were there for the shitshow.

Since then, I (and hopefully my classmates) have grown up a lot. I've come to respect Showgirls and the commentary and intent that the director, Paul Verhoeven, was going for when he made it. Also, it's still a really fun shitshow to take in, while appreciating the deeper discussion. This is what Paul Verhoeven excels at.

Old Sport (OS): Verhoeven didn’t invent the werewolf genre, but he does partake in this style of filmmaking - meaning that his flicks are absolutely bananas.

Best Boy was the one that opened the vault of Verhoeven’s flicks, starting with Starship Troopers. Prior to this experience, I was never that interested in this man’s work as one of my Uncle’s, a “person” that I don’t see eye to eye with– once proclaimed to me that Robocop was the best film ever made. Being that I abhor this “person”, I adamantly refused to watch this picture. Thankfully, Best Boy made me realize the err of my ways and that I was being rather close-minded about the whole thing. Fast forward, and I proudly have a 4K copy of Robocop on the shelf of the Leonard family video rental store. Do I think it was the best movie ever made? Nah. Although, it is a damn fine piece of filmmaking. Which brings me to Showgirls.

Before witnessing/experiencing Showgirls, I of course heard the rumors of it being an incredibly loud glittery shitshow. What’s fascinating is that, even after 25 years, people are still talking about Jessie Spano’s T&A. With it being from 1995, bombing at the box office and inevitably winning seven razzies (important to note: Paul actually showed up to the ceremony to accept his awards) it would be logical to think people would have moved on. Instead, it seems that as years pass, the film gains more traction. Showgirls may have gone down in infamy, but still finds itself discussed today with tenacity. If I have learned anything from Verhoeven’s filmography is that nothing is what it seems. His flicks benefit from multiple watches. I have now seen Showgirls multiple times and can say with a straight face, it is more than just smut.

Nikk Nelson (NN): I missed Showgirls in 1995. I was eleven. I remember its release and the hushed tones with which it was discussed in the halls of my middle school. With internet in its infancy, like a lot of pre-adolescents, movies like Showgirls and late night programming on Showtime and Cinemax were my outlets for sexual curiosity. But I never saw Showgirls until last week. I blame Saved By the Bell and Striptease (1996), mostly. When Striptease came out, my friend’s dad threw a party, invited all of his friends over and they watched it like they were in an actual strip club. I remember being upstairs with my friend, playing Shadowrun, and listening to their hollering. Later, after my friend’s dad went to bed, we snuck downstairs and watched it. It’s been that long since I’ve seen it but if memory serves, there’s maybe three total out and out Demi Moore stripping sequences? What I remember more is a story about a woman, and a lot of women in this country, who are systematically denied financial independence in order to tie cohabitation and marriage, and the common side-effect of reproduction, to their basic security and survival. It’s the bullshit patriarchal control of sex against which some women, ironically, employ sex work. And it’s an effective tool. Which is why it’s illegal. But I digress. I remember liking the movie but feeling really disgusted by it in the context of my friend’s dad and his shallow, sexist friends. Because of that, and because Showgirls was so often discussed alongside Striptease, I avoided it.

BB: This is closer to my mindset when I revisited Showgirls maybe 5 years later. By that point, I’d seen Starship Troopers and eventually figured out that it was a fuck you to militarism and fascism dressed like a big budget, blow-em-up, sci-fi movie and I’d rewatched Robocop after having grown up thinking it was big budget, pro-capitalist/police propaganda when it was, in fact, the exact opposite. This is what Verhoeven’s American films did best: they show you the garbage slop that puts asses in the seats while pointing out the problems inherent in the society he is showing on screen. Convincing a populace that their identity is tied to their nation can convince them to die for that nation. Privatizing policing makes finding (and creating from whole cloth) crime profitable. Showing people that fame and money are more important than dignity and self respect will make them gladly give theirs up in order to gain that fame and money.

OS: Yep. There is more to Verhoeven’s flicks than meets the eye. In this most recent viewing of Showgirls I noticed, the passing of seasons. As a self-proclaimed Halloween enthusiast, I can’t believe it took until my fifth watching of Showgirls to spot the jack-o-lantern in one of the opening scenes. The seasonal changes work absolutely perfect in this film but are easily missed when you are blinded by the  butts.

When Nomi shows up to Vegas, Halloween decorations are out in full effect which perfectly sets the scene for the absolute horror thrill ride she is about to step on. She is entering a House of Horrors - the Cheetah strip club. Throughout the film, with each transition of the story, the season changes - when she gets her big break, it is Christmas time. Of course it is only natural that when she leaves Vegas it is Spring - a sign of rebirth. As BB points out, Verhoeven utilizes these flashy, often distasteful, settings to point out the issues within our society. Those that are prepared to see beyond the grime will be enlightened and find these stories are more than just run-of-the-mill Hollywood blockbusters.

It is my belief that Paul wants the audience to experience an emotion when watching his films. He wants to push your buttons and whether that ends with a feeling of disgust or appreciation, he achieved his goal. Isn’t this the entire point of art? To make one feel. To make one think. As far fetched as this may seem, I do believe in many ways that Nomi is all of us. Striving to get to the top, willing to do whatever it takes to achieve her goals, ya know livin’ the American Dream.

NN: As a kid, I hated Saved by the Bell as a show but I was in love with Elizabeth Berkley.  I found most of the characters to be obnoxious and not in an entertaining way. But anyone who was a tween back then knows that even if you hated the show, you couldn’t get away from it. I was already an insufferable movie snob by the time I was eleven. It was one of the reasons I couldn’t stand the show. I thought it was poorly written and stalely acted with the exception of Elizabeth Berkley (and I’ll admit a soft spot for Mark-Paul Gosselaar but not Zack Morris--check out the video series Zack Morris is Trash). The one episode of the show I do remember seeing is the one where Jesse is addicted to uppers (I think?) and Berkley presents a really intense performance and I remember sitting up and thinking, “Holy shit. Acting.” Again, I was a snob. So, also by that point, I knew how rare it was for an actor to make the jump from tv to feature films. Showgirls buzzed a lot when it was released. It was a big deal. And when I found out Elizabeth was in the lead, I was ecstatic for her. Then, the movie came out. Again, pre-internet, you couldn’t run to and instantly read a hundred reviews of the film. Back then, the way I could tell if a movie was a flop was I would see the preview on TV on a regular basis leading up to the release. Then, when it was released, if I saw even more previews, that meant it was a hit. If I never saw the preview again, that meant it flopped. Years later, I would of course learn that it was basically the studio shutting down ad spending for a movie they knew wasn’t going to make any more money. When the Showgirls preview disappeared, I was crushed. I knew what that meant for Elizabeth Berkley, especially given the completely unfair criticism she was getting at the time for the nudity and sexual content. So, out of respect for her, I never watched it.

BB: And this is a totally respectable reason to avoid it. However, as a former ghoul that was watching it strictly for its ridiculousness, I think that sitting down with Showgirls and looking at what it’s saying about society as well as what its reception by the public says about all of us adds legitimacy to the process. I’m not gonna lie and say I don’t still guffaw at the pool scene or every time Nomi overreacts to a situation (and sometimes acts like an alien attempting to replicate what they’ve seen on a soap opera), but I think it’s allowable to eat your broccoli with your fettuccine alfredo. Showgirls is hilarious and poignant. And it’s with the mindset that I encourage people to take it all in and discuss it with others.

OS: I am glad I gave Showgirls a chance. Sure it is entertaining, and oftentimes tasteless, but if one doesn’t get too lost in the glamour and glitz, I feel there is a deeper message here. Without a doubt, if you choose to accept the mission of viewing Showgirls it will get you talking, and possibly maybe even make ya think about the world around you.

NN: Now it’s 2020, and I only watched it because I trusted Rosalie and Ben when they told me I had to see it. It was a rollercoaster of emotions. First, Elizabeth Berkley is sexy in this movie. She has an amazing body and I can’t imagine how much work and preparation she put into just the physical aspects of the film. Second, she gives Nomi her goddamn all. Pulls no punches. I liked this movie more than Black Swan and The Neon Demon combined solely because of her performance. Once I realized that, I was pissed at Paul Verhoeven. I’m familiar with his oeuvre and for the most part, I’m a fan. So, I knew there was something happening in Showgirls more than what was happening on the screen. I was in denial watching it but discussing it in real time with Ben and Rosalie, it finally dawned on me. It’s supposed to be bad. It’s intentional. Verhoeven intentionally made an overly-hyped, highly sexualized, but incredibly empty spectacle in order to comment on the overly-hyped, highly sexualized, but incredibly empty American ideology of, not just film, but existence overall. And all I could think was, poor Elizabeth Berkley. She had to have worked so fucking hard on that performance, knowing how high the stakes were for her, how much the deck was stacked against her, and she probably trusted Verhoeven. She probably assumed she was in good hands and he probably let her believe it. In his quest to make his “artisitic” point, (which, by the way, Paul, we’re all fucking aware of the empty spectacle that is our entire country, thank you), he destroyed Elizabeth Berkley’s career. How hard she worked. How much she trusted him. And he treated her exactly how the world treated her in order to make a point about how the world treats her. I’m interested to learn if she ever went on record, in-depth, about the experience. I wonder if she knew going in or maybe realized it at a certain point during filming? Still. Go fuck yourself, Paul Verhoeven.

BB: This has always been a sticking point for me in my love of this film, and Verhoeven’s work in general. His actors often end up getting the short end of the stick. The women feel this especially because of how the industry commoditizes their looks and sexuality as well as the catty discussions around them. Having now seen You Don’t Nomi, I can say that some of Nikk’s concerns are addressed, but I will discuss that further, next week, in my review of that film. Until then, I think it’s a great time to check out Showgirls (again or for the first time) to see it through today’s eyes. It’s currently free via DirectTV and Starz/Amazon or you can rent it via Fandango Now.

You Don't Nomi releases Friday, June 5 - check back next week for Best Boy’s full review.