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Mlotek:
To put it very simply to start,

I think we're still
talking about "showgirls"

because we're not done with it.

Man: What're you going
to Vegas for? You gonna win?

Mlotek: I don't think
we're done with it

because I don't think we've
figured out what "showgirls"

means as a film.

Karlman: Cristal Connors defines
what Las Vegas is all about!

But the way in which
we can like something

that we know is so flawed
or so strange

isn't finished yet.

And one movie wears
its no-17 label proudly,

and that's about
all it's wearing...

A sizzling story
about strippers.

Man ♪2: Many people say
Hollywood is going hard-core.

Mlotek: And not only that,
but the critical response to it,

we're not done really
understanding that either.

The buildup for this film
was long and steady,

but it didn't take long for
the critics to tear it down.

“Showgirls” crossed the line
which conscience

and responsible filmmaking
should respect.

Mlotek: It was, like, reviled
and rejected

by the arbiters of taste,
as well as audiences.

Lousy movie. Very lousy acting.

I hated it.

It's kind of raw,
kind of raunchy.

She can't act.
Nice body, though.

She belongs on
"saved by the bell."

Too much real life. Raw.

Mlotek: And it wasn't until
it was embraced as something bad

or, like, silly...

Without further ado,
I give you "showgirls"!

Mlotek: Or a joke...

I used to love doggy chow.

Mlotek: That it found its base,

and in finding people
who were willing to mock it,

it found people who were
willing to take it seriously.

So when I went back
and started watching

all of Paul verhoeven's
other films,

I realized how much I had missed
but sort of picked up on.

All of those movies
provided a framework.

Karlman: Nomi Malone is what
Las Vegas is all about!

It is now 16 minutes
before the hour.

There's a movie
that's creating quite a buzz

in Hollywood these days,

not only because
of its racy content

but also because its director
is hoping

it will receive the very rating

that usually means
box-office death... no-17.

Ultimately, I think this movie
is about values.

It's about moral values
and spiritual choices

as a young 19-year-old woman
makes them.

It's about innocence
and corruption.

It's about the choice
not to be corrupted.

This is a role that does not
come around that often,

even for, let's say,
established film actresses.

You know, they always complain

that there aren't enough
strong women in films,

and this so happens to be
a woman so filled with passion,

so filled with strength
and power and sexuality

and all these wonderful things

that I wanted
to explore her on film.

People are much more inclined
to think

that it is bad to portray sex,

that it's nearly criminal
to portray sex,

and, of course, I think
that's wrong, you know?

I think sexuality
is part of our life,

and we should not
be afraid of it.

Schmader:
"Showgirls" is about two men

who maybe did a lot of cocaine

and found themselves
drunk with power in Hollywood

after making a shitty movie
about a lesbian ice-pick killer

that was a huge hit,

and they chose to deploy
all that power

and Hollywood cachet on what
was supposed to be a drama

about a young girl's
rise to fame in Las Vegas

but ended up being kind of
its own documentary

about its making.

"What?

This is what they really
wanted to do?"

Mlotek:
When "showgirls" was released,

I was way too young
to really know anything

except what I was gleaning
from reading the newspapers

or the magazines,
and so I had the sensibility

that there were a lot of movies
in theaters about sex

and why it was bad or dangerous.

At the same time, I was seeing

the same things play out
in real life.

Schmader: I think 1995
was a pretty fraught moment

for a movie like this.

Woman: Paul verhoeven and
Joe eszterhas teamed up again,

and this time they've made the
most expensive no-17 film ever.

Man: "'Showgirls' is sleazy
and forgettable,

a story about
a hyperactive eyeliner junkie

out to rule the world."

Schmader: "Showgirls"
is the type of bad movie

that inspires bad reviews

that become kind of
comic set pieces of their own

because they just
inspire critics to this flourish

of explaining
exactly what's terrible.

Woman: "The filmmaker's
incessant talk about vision,

artistry,
and honest self-expression

lead one to expect
a sexually explicit biopic

about the Dalai Lama.”

Man: "We don't blame verhoeven,

the director of two sleek,
inventive Hollywood fantasies,

'robocop' and "total recall, '
for making this movie.

The real culprit is eszterhas,
swami of the high concept."

Woman: "Elizabeth berkley,
once a sitcom kid

on TV's 'saved by the bell, '
plays nomi Malone,

a tarty blonde with the brains
of an appliance bulb."

Man: "When she's not being nude,
unpleasant or both,

berkley tries hard
to act soft and kind,

but she's about as convincing
as Joan Crawford.”

Siskel.: It's not sexy at all,
and she's not sexy.

She's hard around the face.

I didn't think she was
particularly appealing.

I thought the other woman
was more attractive.

- Gina gershon, yeah.
- Yeah, more attractive.

So I don't think
they have an attractive star.

They don't do anything original
in the screenplay at all.

I didn't care for the film.

Woman: "If verhoeven hadn't
proven that he was once capable

of making great movies,
this piece of masturbation

probably wouldn't be
so hard to take.”

Woman ♪2: "When a group
of chimps get loose

in the showgirls' dressing room
and all they do is defecate,

the film enjoys a rare moment
of good taste."

Let me guess.
Worst movie... "Showgirls."

- "Showgirls,” you got it.
- Good guess.

- That was kind of a no-brainer.
- You've been watching, huh?

Woman:
"Showgirls" was also awarded

worst actress, screenplay,
director and even worst song.

"Showgirls"!

Worst picture of the decade
is "showgirls"!

Mlotek: Ouch.

Schmader: The first time I saw
"showgirls" was in 1999,

and it was late because at
the time of its release in '95,

it was just this garbage-y,
misogynist movie

I would never go see.

And in 1999,
my best friend mindy called,

and mindy is, like, the key
art recommender of my life.

She was the one in high school
who was like,

"listen to
the velvet underground.

Read Margaret atwood."

And in 1999, she called and said

that she had
just seen "showgirls"

and it was crucial that I rent
it and watch it immediately.

It opens with nomi,
who is hitchhiking

with a very, very large suitcase
and rebellious leather jacket.

And even the way
she holds her thumb

is like a martian came to earth

and looked up "hitchhiking"
in a dictionary

and then tried to do it.

Within, like,
the first six minutes,

I had so many questions.

You could sit a little bit
closer if you want.

It was a bad idea.

Chill, okay?

I'm chill.

Schmader:
This is the first of nomi

having kind of bizarre responses

to people who are just trying
to give her a hand.

Back off, motherfucker!

Hey. Fuck off!

Whoa, sorry.

Where are you from?

Different places.

Schmader: Like, nothing can be
small or boring.

Like, why touch something
you can kick?

Hey! Be nice.

Get your hands off me!

Listen.
You're getting $1,000 for this.

Yeah, for this. This!

I'll just pull on over.

Schmader: Why delicately
pull to the side of the road

when you can actually maybe
cause a entire freeway pileup?

All right?

Fuck! The fucker left!

That's my car!

I said that's my car! Stop it.

I want my fucking suitcase!

Get the fuck off my car!

Here's the stomach.

Schmader: You can't look away
from "showgirls."

You'll miss something huge,
like a car crash or a vomit.

Hey. Leave me alone!

Hey!

Schmader: Molly saves her life
in a split second

from being crushed by a car.

The love theme comes in,

and you can't fucking believe
they're trying to sell us this,

of, like, "this is the movie?

They're spiritual friends now?"

The first six minutes
made mindy's point clear.

Okay, yes, it's a failed movie.

It's misogynist. It's sexist.

It's really embarrassing
and terribly written.

But it adds up to something,

a type of comedy I don't think
you can make on purpose

which makes it very rare
and valuable.

Must be weird not having
anybody come on you.

Schmader: Yeah,
and I immediately wanted

to watch it with other people.

That was the thing,
was the kind of,

"what the fuck?" Moments,
where you're like,

"did I really hear that?
Did I really see that?"

If you knew the backstory,
a little bit of the dreams

for what it was meant to be,

it just made it
the most poignant comedy.

I don't know how good you are,
darling,

and I don't know
what it is you're good at,

but if it's at the cheetah,
it's not dancing.

I know that much.

You don't know shit!

I don't think it's funny.

I don't think it's funny!

Schmader: When I first
screened it for friends,

none of them had seen it before.

They'd all heard about it.

And one of them was on the board

of northwest film forum,

which is our independent
cinema here

and pitched me doing
a hosted screening there.

And I did one night,
and it worked.

Like, the audience got into it,

and they booked me
for another night,

and then there was a line
around the block.

And that's how the first public

making-fun-of-"showgirls™
screening happened.

Moss: Line them up.

Okay, show me your tits.

I got a topless show,
for Christ sakes!

Let me see your tits.

Nayman: I mean, it was an
easy target, and, you know,

I'm always really wary
of critics

that think that
they're shooting bull's-eyes

when the target is that big.

The angles that people tried
to hit it from

were pretty safe
and pretty lazy.

Very nice.

Nayman:
"Showgirls" is also signaling

to fans of Paul verhoeven,

you know, that it's like
his other films,

that it takes
that same perspective.

My first viewing of “showgirls”

was, on one level,
pretty typical

which is that
I was a 14-year-old boy

when it came out,
so I wanted to see it.

But I think what was atypical
about that

is I was mostly interested
that it had gotten zero stars

in the globe and mail,

and I did remember reading
that, you know,

Friday morning newspaper

at the breakfast table
with my parents.

The critics at the time
who panned it,

I think, on one level
it's understandable

because there are aspects
of the story

and the characters
and the dialogue

and just the dramaturgy of it
that are outrageous

or that are excessive
or that are sort of silly.

I never had a dress like that.

It'll look great on me.

Won't it?

Yeah.

Nayman: Where I think
the initial reviews

reveal themselves
to be pretty disingenuous

and where I start to get mad
is when you read people say,

"well, and top of all this, god,
it's so badly made.

Who edited this thing, you know?

Why is the film so ugly?
Where's verhoeven's craft gone?"

And it's like,
"well, demonstrably,

you're a fucking moron."

- Ooh, what do you think?
- Oh, my goodness.

Mm-hmm.

Nayman: It is gorgeous
wide-screen movie.

There's wit not just
in the choreography,

but in even just
the different backdrops

of the production numbers, the
way that it moves from like...

At the stardust,
it moves from, like,

a biblical spectacular,
so it's like Cecil b. Demille,

into the biker stuff,
you know, into busby Berkeley.

It's like a history of musicals
and a history of exploitation.

It has these wonderfully
expressionist images,

like the death's head sitting
over Gina gershon's shoulder...

Miss Connors, how did you feel
about the show tonight?

I think it's the best show
I've ever been in.

I only hope I can do it justice.

Nayman: Or Kyle maclachlan
having that evil cellphone call

against, like,
this volcano with this,

you know, lava spewing
in the background.

Phil, you dumb fuck.
Get back up here, would you?

I know. 1 know.

Nayman: This stuff
is very accomplished

and very clever
and very intentional.

In terms of
the three claims in my book,

you would probably put
the "piece of shit” claim first

'cause that's been
the order of reception,

the film that is a piece of shit

that sort of gets reclaimed
as a stealth masterpiece,

not the masterpiece that
over time reveals itself

to be a piece of shit
like "Forrest Gump"

or "American beauty"
or other really terrible movies

that, you know,
it takes some time for people

to catch up to how evil
and insidious they are.

You know,
"showgirls" is the reverse.

You got something wrong
with your nipples?

- No.
- They're not sticking up.

Stick them up. What?

Play with them a little bit.

Nayman: It is tremendously
and unapologetically tacky...

Pinch them a little.

You want me to do it for you?
I'll do it.

Nayman:
And maybe on some level bad.

Here, put some ice on them.

Nayman: But it is also, in ways
that don't cancel that out,

they don't negate it,
it's also very good

and clearly the work
of somebody who,

at least the director,
knows what he's doing,

and what he's doing
is interesting.

Hey. What are you doing here?

I just did an audition.

Nayman:
The "masterpiece of shit"

is that idea
that it really is both at once.

And I would even go so far
as to say

that the ways
that they didn't get it

or bounces off of the stuff
that's good on purpose

and makes the film completely
singular, like nothing else.

The number of scenes

that involve mirrors
in the background,

mirrors as part
of the production design,

I mean, there's just a lot
of visual possibilities there,

and this is a movie
that's about characters

whose appearance matters.

There's a certain amount
of narcissism.

You know, I think that
the cheetah and the stardust,

to some extent,
are mirror images of each other

or distorted mirror images
of each other.

The opening scene and the
closing scene mirror each other.

I mean, there's a lot
of really kind of deep-core

structuring devices in the film.

There's also, of course,

the doubling
of different characters,

particularly, you know,
nomi and cristal.

Miss Malone, how did you feel
about the show tonight?

I just hope that I can be
as good as the show.

Nayman:
Whether nomi is the next cristal

or cristal used to be nomi

or the two of them, you know,
spend a lot of the film kind of,

you know, face-to-face,
measuring each other up,

you know, nomi copying cristal.

But I also think that the mirror
works in "showgirls,"

if you believe
verhoeven's intent,

to hold a mirror up to society
and to reflect it.

I don't think that mgm thought
they were gonna fill

3,000 theaters of people
going to see "showgirls"

to have reality
reflected back at them.

It's sort of supposed to be
an escape,

or rather you can't escape from
the reality that it's about.

Shulgasser-Parker:
Really? Mirrors?

Is that the big greatness
of this?

You know, mirrors? Really?

Are the mirrors here better,

or is the camera
spinning around 360,

is that better than "the lady
from shanghai” with mirrors?

In all the years
that I've been a critic,

every time I see a bad movie,

I try to give it
the benefit of the doubt.

And I always wondered, you know,

"how do you sometimes get
a movie with a great director,

great cast, an okay writer,

and they come up
with something terrible?"

It's not on my list
of worst movies ever

for exactly that reason,
that it is so watchable,

but it's up there with my list
of the most pathetic

in that the filmmakers
themselves seem to view it now,

based on recent interviews
I've read, as misunderstood

or full of overlooked virtue
or value.

Truth is, "showgirls" is...

It's drearily pedestrian
and mainstream.

It's an insipid kind of failure.

It pretends that the open
display of body parts and sex

makes it somehow daring,

when at its
shallow little heart,

it's nothing more than
a cliché-ridden remake.

In its basic structure,
it's as formulaic

as the usual
kind of low-grade movies

that's what you've got.

But, you know, then you have

this amazing director,
verhoeven,

who really knows
how to make a film.

Nayman: Paul verhoeven
basically invented the idea

of a Dutch
commercial art cinema.

You know, his biography
is really fascinating

in that he almost ended up an
academic based on his studies,

and then he almost ended up
a deeply religious guy

based on this early flirtation
he had with the church,

and that ended.

And so verhoeven, who, you know,
came out of the box

with these two very sort of
bohemian sex comedies,

"business is business"
and then "turkish delight,"

he was sort of
a breath of fresh air

and also a bit scary, I think.

You know, the Netherlands,
in my research, is not...

It's not that it's necessarily
a hostile or a repressive place,

but there's a veneer
of kind of grudging tolerance

to a lot of their art
and to a lot of their culture,

and I think verhoeven pushed
that standard for tolerance.

A film like "turkish delight”
is not gonna pass unnoticed,

and it didn't.

I mean,
it got an Oscar nomination,

and it only lost
because francois truffaut

made "day for night" that year.

"Spetters,” which is about
three young men

who want to be
motorcycle-racing stars,

which is the movie
that essentially got him

kicked out of the Netherlands
because people found

the violence and the homophobia

and the disgust of it
overwhelming,

partially because
they didn't like

the picture of the country
that it was painting...

Not a film
that is itself homophobic,

but a film
that is about homophobia.

Verhoeven's Dutch films
are the work of somebody

who's really working

in a free, liberated,
very European way,

and then eventually he pushes
that as far as it can go...

And gets kind of exiled
to Hollywood.

It's funny that for a lot
of European filmmakers,

America is where
you're working to end up.

In verhoeven's case, it's semi
where he kind of got sent to

or where they sort of
kicked him out to.

And then you have
this whole second cycle,

American movies
that become influential

in a whole bunch of other ways,

which is that
if you're writing a history

of American blockbuster films,

okay, yes, Steven Spielberg
gets his own chapter,

and James Cameron
gets his own chapter,

but the more fun chapter
is the verhoeven chapter.

Sconce: Even in the mid-'90s,

to see a film that was
just sort of that out there

and unlike anything else

that the studios
were putting money into

was really kind of nice,
really kind of shocking, right?

And the same thing was said
about "starship troopers."

During the making of the film,
somebody congratulated him

on making a $120 million
art film, right?

This is a narrative
that Hollywood historians

and film buffs love, which is
the story of the heroic director

who finds a way to make the film
they really want to make

and fools cretinous,
tasteless producers

who have no interest
in the art form whatsoever,

versus the directors
who are these great auteurs

who want to make movies,

and that's another thing
that makes "starship troopers"

and "showgirls"
so special, I think,

is you do almost feel like
a prank was pulled

on the studios
that released those.

They got these very European
avant-garde takes

on American culture
through sex and through war

that were probably not
what they were counting on.

Enroll in the federal service
for not less than two years

and as much longer
as may be required

by the needs of the federation.

Mlotek: His motivation when it
comes to depicting America

and American cultures
is always explicitly clear.

Announcer: Nukem!
Get them before they get you.

I'd buy that for a dollar!

And it is explicitly negative.

The enforcement droid,
series 209,

is a self-sufficient
law-enforcement robot.

209 is currently programmed
for urban pacification,

but that is only the beginning.

Mlotek: When you look
at his movies as a whole,

especially when you look
at "robocop"

which is very overtly critical
about policing in America

and only gets more
relevant with age...

I think you'd better do
what he says, Mr. Kinney.

Ed-209: You now have
five seconds to comply.

Help me! Help! Four, three...

- Two, one.
- Help me!

I am now authorized to use
physical force.

Mlotek: Or you look
at "basic instinct”

which says a lot about the way
American men

of lesser intelligence
like to think about themselves

as the hero
of their own stories,

which is my favorite
part of it...

Honey, I thought I'd seen
everything before.

Did you really think
it was so special?

I've told her. I thought it was
the fuck of the century.

Well, what do you think?

Mlotek:
And then you get to "showgirls,"

which is like,
"oh, Las Vegas sucks.

Like, you think it's this den
of responsible hedonism,

but actually it's just,
like, as gross and base

as every other part
of your culture."

But it is funny when you look
at the critical response

and you see, like,
coming off "basic instinct,"

which is again, like,
Paul verhoeven

literally trying
to do Hitchcock.

He's trying to, like, best
somebody we consider

to be one of the most,
like, unimpeachable directors

of contemporary cinema,
and everyone is like, "cool."

Nayman: I've just always thought
it's interesting

that verhoeven was widely
understood in America

as a satirist
and as a social commentator

as long as the primary texture
of his films was violence...

And sex was sort of
just in the background

as a cheap thing,
like the hookers in "robocop"

or the three-breasted stripper
in "total recall.”

- Whoo!
- 0oh!

Nayman: You know, the coed
showers in "starship troopers."

I'm not putting any of those
things down, by the way.

I like all of those things.

Whenever he moves
that stuff to the foreground

and makes a movie
that has a texture

that's more overtly sexual,
like "basic instinct,”

which is still enough
of a thriller

that people could watch it,

where "showgirls," all of
a sudden people didn't think

he was a satirist
or a commentator

or that he was being funny
or that he was being sly.

People just sort of said,
"what a pervert."

As if perverts can't be funny.

In 1992, Paul verhoeven
and Joe eszterhas

collaborated on
"basic instinct,”

and this is how they chose
to follow it up.

They were really doubling down

on the idea that they could
get away with anything.

I am a provocative person.

I like to provoke.
There's no doubt about it.

So if it's by using sexuality
or nudity or whatever,

if I can provoke, 1 will do it

because I am a child,
a little bit.

I like to...
I think it's funny to provoke.

I thought, you know,
we could do a musical

that's not superficial,
that's not glib,

that has different layers

and that really challenges
the country,

challenges moviegoers.

There is no one better at that
as a director

than Paul verhoeven,

and I don't think
there's anyone better at that

as a writer than I am,
and it's a nice combination.

Nayman:
Joe eszterhas for a while

held the designation of being,
you know,

the highest-paid single
scriptwriter in Hollywood.

He's a guy who began his career
as a journalist

and, you know, always had
this sort of sensationalism

and hysteria,
but also very smart.

He has a real kind of...

Hustler-trashy-pulpy
side to him.

Hey! Oh!

You like phone booths?

Phone booths?

You probably just like doing it
in bed, right?

Nayman:
Something like "flashdance,"

which eszterhas also wrote,
which was sort of the last word

in the early '80s
in high concept...

You know, a welder by day,
stripper by night...

I mean, that's the kind of
storyteller he is.

And I think it's not a surprise

that he and Paul verhoeven
got along,

and it's also not a surprise
that they fell out.

You know, if you read
the production history

of "basic instinct,”

they had real arguments
with each other.

Man: Gay activists
tried to disrupt the filming

of "basic instinct,” claiming
the script was homophobic,

and then eszterhas,
the man who wrote it,

very publicly took their side.

Nayman: You can see how they had
a falling out after "showgirls"

because even if they were on
the same page when they made it,

the kind of failure
that that movie had

doesn't exactly strengthen
the bonds between collaborators.

Schmader: Some of my favorite
horrors of Joe eszterhas

is he has this love
of little totems

that are supposed to
represent an entire world.

The recurring motifs
that show up in "showgirls"...

I got to go to work.

Schmader: A big one
is women women talking about

chips and nails.

Molly: What are you gonna do,
watch TV and eat chips?

Yeah. Where are the chips?

Mm-mm-mm.

Check it out!

Wow.

Schmader: The nails
in "showgirls" are crazy.

Your friend has nice nails.

She does them herself.

Maybe she can do mine sometime.

Schmader: Maybe Joe eszterhas
had a girlfriend once

who talked about her nails,

and now all women in the world

talk about their nails.

I didn't even know about
the audition until afterwards.

Do you like my nails?

Schmader: Out of the blue, women
just discussing their nails.

It's almost like it's a cue
they send each other of, like,

"hello. You have nails.
Now we can talk.”

Not as nice as yours.

Maybe I'll help you
with yours sometime.

Schmader:
Seems like maybe he was, like,

met one dancer and was like,

"what's the life
of a dancer like?"

And this one dancer said,

"well, I went to some classes,

and I ate a lot of brown rice
and vegetables."

What kind of classes
have you had?

Schmader: And that becomes
a code for him.

You do eat brown rice
and vegetables, don't you?

Sure.

Jack. Jack: Yeah.

- What do you want?
- Um, burger, fries, and soda.

Get her some brown rice,
vegetables,

and a bottle of evian.

Uh-oh! Look what I found.

Schmader: The chips, I think,
was to show

that nomi was a wild stallion

who wouldn't just eat
brown rice and vegetables.

She's gonna eat a burger
on the hood of a car.

J listen to the drummer,
come and listen to the bass j

you like that burger? Uh-huh!

Where you from?

Different places.

Schmader: A major motif also

is the baffling charisma
of nomi Malone,

because no one who crosses her
path can resist falling in love

and immediately placing her
at the center of their lives.

You can stay with me
if you need a place to crash.

It's not much.

Until you get a job?

Schmader: Also this movie
has some race problems

where black people exist

only to help nomi
achieve her dreams.

Hey!

Schmader: They're only there
to love and worship

and believe in nomi in ways
she cannot believe in herself.

James: Just listen.

You got more natural talent
when you dance

than anybody I've ever seen.

Schmader: Another big one is
it's not enough to be naked.

You have to talk about
being naked

while you're naked to
remind people that you're naked.

Nomi, do my boobs
look any bigger to you?

Woman: Come on, baby!

Schmader:
This kind of really klutzy,

not much interest
in actual humanity,

just this kind of sex cartoon
that he wanted to write.

I'm on my period.

Yeah, right. Check.

Schmader: It really seems like
it was written by a 13-year-old

imagining what adults
do at night.

See?

Mlotek: Gender and sexism as it
relates to the film itself

matters both in the subject
matter and the way it was made.

Like, Paul verhoeven
has established himself

as a director who does not
respect his actresses

or his female characters.

Like, very famously
he deceived Sharon stone

into filming that famous scene
that everybody loves

because he knew better.

Like, that's always his thing.
He knows best.

It's nice.

The marking and the elements
to penny and cristal.

Mlotek: If the person on set

who has structurally the most
power in every sense of the word

in that he is the director of
the film, what he says goes,

and also he is, like,
a white, straight man

who has established himself
as a moneymaker

in an extremely
powerful industry,

and so he is just
going to force a woman

to do what he wants to do
whether she likes it or not,

that is misogyny
replicating itself.

Verhoeven: When you come up, go
to right there somewhere, yeah?

Yeah.

And then just
straight to the pole.

Verhoeven: Right.

And I love nudity.
I think it's great.

Male or female,
I think it looks beautiful.

The female body, for me,
is great and is attractive.

It's sexual. It's beautiful.

This aesthetic is everything.

Shulgasser-Parker:
Women are striving to have

real impact in society...

To get to the supreme court,
to be president,

to run corporations that make
policies that affect all of us.

Those are important goals.

Moss: I don't care
whether you live or die.

I want to see you dance,
and I want to see you smile.

Shulgasser-Parker:
To present us with a striver

whose biggest goal is to dance,
you know, a striptease...

Slap it on one.

Shulgasser-Parker: It's so
oblivious to what is important

to, "a," society,
and, "b,"” women

that it's laughable.

Gay: Slam it! Bah-bah!

Woman: What a contrast
between "saved by the bell"

and your new role.

Yeah, it just seemed, you know,
the natural progression.

As an actress, I want to portray
as many different characters,

so, you know, it's just
a really wonderful time

to take risks and do new things.

J when I wake up
in the morning j»

j and the alarm gives out
a warning j

mlotek: Because of my age,
I grew up with Jessie spano

on "saved by the bell."

A beauty pageant?

What a stupid, sexist
waste of time!

Mlotek: Yeah, I kind of dreamed
of being someone

who could take all my, like,
burgeoning feminist principles

and use them to scream

at all the dumb boys in my class
the way she did.

This is sexist pigism
of the worst kind.

We were discussing the obvious
benefits of a female president.

She's long overdue.

Yep, just like a woman.
Always late.

Mlotek: Jessie spano
was somebody who was, like,

as a character,
very present in my mind,

and as such
I did always associate

Elizabeth berkley with her.

I think it would have been
part of this,

like, great tradition
of very young women

knowing that the only way
they were going to make the leap

from child star to grown actress

is to do something
that is probably

a bit more provocative...

Hi.

Mlotek: Than is necessary,

I want to say, to, like,
skip a step of maturity

by going straight to,
"I do sex all the time."

Although I guess you could

make the argument
that on "saved by the bell"

she was always
argumentative and loud.

Sometimes, to get elected,

you have to do things
you swore you never would.

She was willing to say or do
anything and was also a dancer,

so it seemed maybe there was,
like, a chance for a second

that she could have
turned that into,

I don't know,
a way to make it a real career,

but instead it's just become,
like, a collection of scenes

in which she's always, like,

operating at this
very high frequency of emotions.

Bitch!

Mlotek: I mean,
nothing is fair in life,

but it seems like that film

was some sort of,
like, definitive judgment

on what her skills really were,

when really I think now
we're more willing to say

that it was a greater indicator
of Paul verhoeven's directing.

In the middle of a fight, it was
just like boom, boom, boom.

Mlotek: But at the time
it was just like,

"ugh, she's too intense.”

Like, "don't hire her."

J I'm afraid of the animals j

oh!

J I'm afraid of the world j

nomi!

Hey, you! Hold her!

What the fuck are you doing?!

- She started it!
- Fuck you!

- Fuck you, asshole!
- Party's over!

Nayman: Elizabeth berkley's
career had been that very odd,

presentational laugh track,
"saved by the bell" world

which is such
a distinct type of acting.

There you have it, America.

Judge for yourself.

Nayman: To give a young actor,
like, a role like nomi,

it felt like a James Dean role
or a young Robert De Niro role.

It's a huge role.

If it was done in a real movie,

that would have been
a star-making role.

Berkley: I've been
preparing for this role

my whole life, basically,

twelve years, two to three hours
a day dancing.

So I can't exist, like nomi,
without dance in my life.

I'm fortunate that I found
something that gives me such joy

and gives me such life,
because I know a lot of people

don't ever find that one thing.

So, what could be better?

Nayman:
It hurt her acting career.

It kind of robbed this other

great pleasure
of her life from her.

I really feel terrible for her.

She got a great opportunity.
She said yes.

It was nothing but pain for her

to even be reminded
of "showgirls."

Man: So, you got a name?

Nomi.

Molly: Hey! Nomi!

I'm nomi Malone.

Nayman:
Well, I would be, you know,

one of many critics
to point out the pun in nomi,

in that it's a polyvalent pun,
you know?

Woman: This is my friend nomi.
She's a dancer, too.

Nayman: Nomi meaning, "do you
want to get to 'know me'?"

Nomi meaning, “I have 'no me.'
I have no self."

Or, "no! Me!"
You know, "I want to be first."

Nomi: You don't know
anything about me.

Nayman: I'm not sure
Joe eszterhas really sat down

and mapped that out,
but it works, and I think that,

you know, the idea that nomi
is a stage name for someone

who is really
a Polly Ann or a pollyanna...

Polly Ann costello!

Your father killed your mother
then killed himself.

See ya, pollyanna!

Nayman: Pollyanna being
someone who's a bit of a naif...

One day,
she looks like pollyanna.

Nayman: Someone who's naive,

doesn't know what
she's getting into...

Nice dress.

Thanks.
I bought it at "versayce."

Nayman: I mean, that's sort of
nomi's narrative, you know?

Polly Ann costello
becomes nomi Malone.

Sconce: There's a famous article
by Jack Smith,

the director and film critic.

He has a great essay he wrote
about a 1944 universal b film

called "cobra woman."

He talks about Maria montez, who
was a stock player at universal.

She was usually brought in
to play vaguely ethnic roles.

He makes a very passionate
argument about how

it is
the single greatest performance

in the history of cinema.

- Who are you?
- I am your sister.

Sconce: He's not being ironic.

He's not being sarcastic.

King cobra!

Sconce: He loves it
because in this moment,

when she's playing
the queen of the cobras,

she's so into it that it just
takes it to a whole other level.

Emcee: Ladies and gentlemen,

the stardust proudly presents
miss nomi Malone.

Sconce: And in many respects,

Elizabeth berkley's performance
in that film is that way for me.

You know,
she is the center of it,

and it really sort of
depends on her

maintaining this kind of
hysterical energy

all the way through from the
first minute to the last minute.

Just makes you think about
a whole other kind of acting

that we just don't get
in the cinema anymore.

Emcee: "Midnight mass" proud to
present miss peaches Christ.

Peaches Christ: You don't get
much better of a climax

than exploding out of
a volcano, right,

so that's pretty much
how our shows always open.

Sometimes I come out
of the volcano, and I'm cristal.

Sometimes I come out,
and I'm nomi.

It just depends.

There's always someone
younger and hungrier

coming down the stairs
after you.

And then there's
some sort of centerpiece

that has varied over the years,

and through the years
having done the show so much,

that center scene probably
has changed enough times

that we've done the whole movie.

We both want to ride
the "ma-nomi pony"

in a private dance room.

How much is it, darling?
A dollar?

It's just perfection.

- Nope, sorry.
- Okay.

Uh, why don't you just make
Zack here come in his pants

while I grind my pussy
on this filthy chair?

You either get it, or you don't,
but for those of us that get it,

it can become our religion.

Well, after I moved
to San Francisco,

I began performing
at a local drag nightclub

called trannyshack that was
brand-new here in San Francisco,

and after a few years
of performing,

we decided to create this other
show called "midnight mass,"

which was going to celebrate
my love for midnight movies.

And so, at the time,

landmark theatres had
some midnight-movie programs,

and the programming was kind of
what you would describe

as classically midnight,

college fare like
"taxi driver"...

You got to be kidding.

- What?
- This is a dirty movie.

Peaches Christ:
"A clockwork orange"...

Stop it! Stop it!
Please, I beg you!

Peaches Christ:
Maybe a John waters film

if you were really lucky.

And the next package
you bring me

is getting shoved
right up your little ass.

Can you comprehend that?

Peaches Christ: And so
when I came back and said,

"I'd like to book this film,
'showgirls,

I remember the booker saying,
"that movie with Demi Moore?"

And I was like, "no."

Girl: Mama!

Baby. Oh!

Peaches Christ: "No!

That is striptease, '

and I have no interest
in 'striptease.'

did you guys
like our freak show?

We've had to get
really experimental

after doing 19 shows.

All right, ladies and gentlemen.

And then we, you know,
tear down that fourth wall,

which really was never there
to begin with

and introduce our lap dancers.

Let's see your large popcorns.
Hold them up high.

We advertised free lap dances
with every large popcorn.

Here we go! Lap dancing!

And they were, like, filthy,
disgusting, boogery,

horrifying drag queens.

In San Francisco,
a drag queen can be...

Really anyone can do drag...
Men, women, whatever.

They come up, and they have
shit on their panties.

My prerequisite was that

you should frighten
the audience, you know?

Whuh!

Ha ha!

Peaches Christ: I think
it definitely fits into

the classic tropes
that go along with

something that becomes
a cult movie.

Pull your dress up!

Honey, you could never handle me

with all these wrinkles of fat.

Ohh! Ohh!

Why, you'd never even
find the thing.

Peaches Christ:
It was misunderstood...

I'd have to piss on you
to give you a clue.

Peaches Christ:
When it came out.

I think often films like
"the rocky horror picture show,"

"showgirls," "mommie dearest,"

they tend to go too far
for a mainstream audience.

Why are you doing that?!
Tell me!

You sit still now!

Peaches Christ: And so it takes
a little bit longer

for the cult to kind of,

to build and find it and say,
"hey, you know what?

Like, we love
Faye dunaway's performance

in "mommie dearest."

You expect me to ignore my fans?

They're life and death to me,
baby.

Peaches Christ: Not only
does it have tremendous value,

I want to watch this thing
over and over and over again,

and I want to memorize
all of the lines.

No wire hangers!

What's wire hangers doing
in this closet when I told you

- no wire hangers ever?!
- Crowd: No wire hangers ever?!

Peaches Christ:
So somehow you can take

a great,
you know, a movie like that

and then say,
"no, this isn't for you.

This is for us."

It's really Elizabeth
that audiences over the years

have shown up again and again
to watch repeatedly

because it's such
an extraordinary

and bizarre performance.

Woman: Excuse me.

- Wait, you cannot go in there!
- What's going on?

What the fuck do you mean,
"what's going on?"

So there I was dancing
butt naked for five minutes.

Peaches Christ:
Gina gershon is brilliant.

She says that she played
the film as a drag queen

and kind of understood
or knew...

You think you could
do my nails now?

Conway: She just has
a bit of a flair of knowing

that she's in
a stylish piece of garbage.

Gershon: If you know that myth
at all, and it's, you know,

"here's Aphrodite, the big,
you know, queen-bee goddess,"

and all of a sudden,
some little, you know,

chick comes along
who wants to be,

you know, a goddess,
or everyone is, like,

saying that's what she is, and
she says, "well, okay, honey,"

you know,
"I'll make you a goddess

if you pass a couple of tests...

Which I know,
by the way, you won't,"

and she gives her these tests,
"pass these tests,"

and she keeps passing them,
passing them,

and basically at the end of it,
you know, she's made immortal.

Conway: I would say two minutes
into it, I just, like,

my blood started
to pulse through my body,

and I got so excited because,
1 don't know.

There's just something
that just screams "bad"

the moment you see nomi's face,

and she kind of licks her lips
a little bit on the highway,

and I was literally jumping
up and down on the bed.

The trilogy of camp
was complete...

The trilogy being the 1967 film
"valley of the dolls"...

I wouldn't pay any attention
to that.

You know how bitchy fags can be.

Conway:
The film "mommie dearest,"

and now
this beautiful "showgirls."

It felt like it was part of
that same genre,

meaning sort of
these female characters

who climb their way
towards the top.

But all three of them are just
so impossibly bad

and so thrilling
at the same time.

Woman: Who the hell are you?

Oh!

Conway: There's this really
hard-wrought seriousness

the actors
are trying to portray...

Why can't you treat me
like I would be treated

by any stranger on the street?

Because I am not
one of your fans!

Aaaah!

You never loved me!

Conway:
That the films themselves,

the stories
are trying to establish

that just so completely fail
that make them hilarious

and sort of immortal.

Higher!

Not that high!

Stay in sync!

One, two, three, turn!

Thrust it! Thrust it!

Come on! Thrust it!

Bah! Okay.

That's enough.
Thank you, ladies.

Conway:
I just felt that, you know,

like a triple crown,
it was done.

Civilization had done its job.

J one, two, three, bend j

j one, two, three, stretch j

Conway: It depends on
probably your age

how much the biography
of Elizabeth berkley,

like, impacts your experience
of the film.

J strong whenever
you're around j

j I walk on air,
I barely touch the ground j

Conway: So for me, I had to buy

the "saved by the bell" series
on DVD because I wanted...

I had read descriptions
of the episode

where she gets addicted
to the caffeine pills.

What really resonated for me was
this notion that this character,

Jessie spano, was somehow
morphing into Patty Duke...

Just one, and one more.

Conway: Playing neely O'Hara
in "valley of the dolls,"

who goes way over the top
when she gets high on pills,

which in the movie
they refer to as "dolls."

God!

I need a doll!

Don't leave me here!

Jessie, give me those!

I need them, Zack!
I have to sing!

Jessie! You can't sing tonight.

Yes, I can!

J I'm so excited j

I'm so scared!

Conway: It was like
these invisible threads

that started, like,
stitching together

nomi in the movie

to Elizabeth berkley
as Jessie spano

in this TV show,

neely O'Hara...
Patty Duke... aka Judy garland.

They were all sort of morphing

into this supersonic
generic character.

So after years of watching
"showgirls" hundreds of times,

one night in my little
studio apartment in New York,

I had just finished
watching the film yet again,

and I thought to myself,

"am I just gonna watch
this movie until I die?"

Something just came to me.

I should write a whole book
of sestinas about "showgirls."

It's a love of the film
and of course my love of poetry,

and I kind of
put the two together,

and it started happening
that very night.

You got me the audition,
didn't you?

Cristal: Mm-hmm.

Nomi: Why?

Wloszcyna: I gave it 2 1/2 stars
out of four,

and, you know,
I was fine with that,

and I think some people
were surprised.

But some of my, you know,
coworkers who trusted my taste,

they actually went to see it
based on my review,

and I think with
the frame of reference

I had in my review
of how to approach it

and the way to view it

that they understood
what was going on here.

I hate you.

I know.

Wloszcyna:
Well, I knew it was campy.

It was something else,

and it had this attitude
that I kind of appreciated,

and so I took it from,
you know, judging it...

"Was I entertained?” yes,

but not maybe in the way
that some people,

especially men...

You know, most critics, as how,
were males,

and maybe they didn't
quite get it,

but to me one thing I like about
Paul verhoeven's movies

is that he gets women.

He doesn't see them as being
these fragile creatures

who need saving.

I got him, Clarence! I got him!

You want to walk down to spago,
get something to eat?

- Where is it?
- Just down from "versayce."

Schmader: The spago scene is,
for a lot of us,

it's the crown Jewel
of "showgirls,"

and it's nomi and cristal
going out for lunch.

They were supposed
to have rehearsal,

but cristal is feeling a little
turned inside out today,

so they're going to go
to a schmancy lunch.

What I love about this scene
is it seems like it was written

by a brain-dead Harold pinter,
where the subtext is stunning

until you realize
there is no subtext.

Don't they have
brown rice and vegetables?

Do you like brown rice
and vegetables?

Yeah.

You do?

Sort of.

Schmader: This is "showgirls"
golden moment.

It's worse than dog food.

«jt is.

I've had dog food.

Schmader: It's this
surreal discussion of

the aforementioned
brown-rice-and-vegetable diet

of the dancer,
and it steers into both women

communing over their love
of doggy chow, wistfully.

I used to love doggy chow.

I used to love doggy chow too.

Schmader: There's a moment
where Gina gershon

looks into the distance,
and her eyes kind of mist up,

and she talks about how
she used to eat doggy chow

- a long time ago.
- A long time ago.

What do you think
of the richer flavor

we put into new purina dog chow?

Schmader: Like, what are
they really talking about?

What are they talking about?

Dog:
This is dog food's finest hour.

Schmader: They're talking about
eating dog food.

And at the end of it,
they toast with their chips,

bringing several
"showgirls" motifs full circle.

Hey!

Nayman: So they're sitting down
at the table,

and we're getting
pretty conventional

shot/reverse-shot cutting.

I mean, any scene
is put together this way.

Gina gershon is frame left,
and berkley is frame right,

and it proceeds that way
for a while

as they go through
their absurd dialog.

I used to love doggy chow too.

Nayman: At a certain point
after they pour this toast,

gershon is on the other side
of the screen.

It's sort of
a really interesting bit

of visual trickery by verhoeven

where he violates
the 180-degree axis.

You have great tits.

Nayman: And now,
even though they haven't

switched position in reality,

for the film, nomi is now
suddenly on frame left.

Thank you.

Nayman: And it's
a really interesting reversal

and the violation
of basic screen continuity.

I like having nice tits.

You like to show 'em off.

Nayman: And it just sort of
seems like a really eloquent,

and in this case sort of subtle

because we're all distracted
by what they're talking about,

way to suggest visually

that these women
are somewhat equivalent.

Made me feel like a hooker.

You are a whore, darling.

No, I'm not.

We all are.

We take the cash.
We cash the check.

We show them
what they want to see.

Sconce: You never know what's
going to become a cult film,

and people are always saying,
you know,

"maybe cult films
will cease to exist

because that whole notion
of camp and cult,

for so long, was based

on that old idea
from Susan sontag

about failed seriousness.

Not the bees! Aah!

Sconce: A film can't know if
it's camp to really be camp.

You know, I guess sort of
the classic example

would be something like
"plan 9 from outer space"

where, you know,
it's so bad, it's good.

He's close enough!
Turn off your electrode gun! No!

I can't get it! It's jammed!

Stop him, you fool!

Drop the gun to the floor,
tanna!

The metal will break contact.

Sconce: The ones I'm less
happy about are, you know,

can you still have cult films
in a era

where you have things
like "sharknado," right?

Where you kind of have
this intentional camp aesthetic.

God bless America.

Sconce:
Camp is failed seriousness

except when it's,
you know, performative camp

where they know
that they're exaggerating.

The question of how intention
relates to camp

is really complicated.

A sexual... sexual...

- Rhythmic and a very...
- Modern jazz.

And a very edgy... poetic.

Edgy with very sharp
movements and stuff like that.

So you're always using a whip,
you know, so it's really sexy.

Sconce:
What matters is what's there.

You can never really
trust writers

or directors about their intent

because sometimes
they don't even know

what they're trying
to do, necessarily,

or things come out differently,

then they change their story.

Verhoeven: It's the first time
that I did a musical.

When I was kid, when there were
these American musicals

coming to Europe
immediately after the war,

I was always fascinated by that.

Schmader: Paul verhoeven wrote
a companion book,

a picture book that goes along
with the film,

called "showgirls:
Portrait of a film."

I have to say
that it kind of mirrors

the experience
of watching the film.

It's a book
that's beautifully produced.

However, it's this utter and
complete pretentious seriousness

about what this film
is going to do.

Nayman:
It's written as if this movie

is about to be a great success,

and this is going to be
a chronicle of its success.

In my book I describe it
as like reading a brochure

for the Titanic.

Schmader:
And it's gotten more valuable

because he's since made some
moves to kind of recast it as,

it was supposed to be bad,
it was supposed to be a joke,

all of that was on purpose.

But the essays are,

it's all about what a meaningful
erotic drama it is,

the kind of spiritual warfare
between cristal and nomi.

It's invaluable
for all those times

that you're watching
"showgirls,"

and your brain says,
"what the fuck was he thinking?

What the fuck was he thinking?"
And this dossier is the closest

we will ever get to the answer.

Woman: We're the razzies.

We don't have rules...

Except, of course, that
the movies really, uh, suck!

"Showgirls"!

Schmader: Paul verhoeven
accepted his worst film,

worst director award
at the razzies

and was the first in history
to show up to accept it.

The worst thing
happened to me today.

I got seven of the worst awards,

and I'm very happy
because it was much better,

much more fun than reading
the reviews in September.

Thank you so much.

If you make a movie that
everybody considers as bad,

and it disappears
into no-man's-land immediately,

that's much worse, I think,

than being glorified
for the worst movie of the year.

I thank you very, very much!
Thank you!

Schmader: At the time,
it seemed really healthy,

and it made sense to me,

but with the defenses
that have come out lately,

it seems
a little more confusing.

I used a style

that probably is not so well
known in general, I would say.

The best comparison
would be to look at,

let's say, German paintings
of the '20s and '30s,

which is called
the expressionism.

That was perhaps difficult,
at that time,

to recognize that
as a possibility of filmmaking.

I mean, that's another theory.

You laugh. You don't believe me.

Well, I invented it yesterday.

I can't believe I bought it!

We'll celebrate.
I'll buy you a burrito.

I'll even buy you some fajitas.

Oh, fajita!

Nayman: Even in trying to write
about the relationship

between nomi and Molly

and the relationship
between nomi and cristal...

I got to go.

Aren't you gonna come here
and give me a big kiss?

Nayman: There's a queer line
that runs through the movie

and that runs through a lot
of reception to the movie

and that runs through
a lot of fandom.

Baume: The parallels
between "showgirls"

and the gay experience
are that nomi sets out

on her own to reinvent herself,
to set out into the world

and find the big city
and chase her dreams.

That is something that
a lot of queer people do.

They leave the small town.

They leave whatever unfortunate
circumstances are behind,

and they completely reinvent
themselves with a new name,

with a new identity,
with new dreams,

and so I think nomi's arrival
in Las Vegas

is something that
a lot of us have felt

when we arrive
in Las Vegas or New York

or Seattle or Chicago
or wherever we go.

Another reason
that nomi resonates is because

she is not afraid
to use her sexuality.

I liked it when you came.

Baume: She is starving
for sexual attention,

and she is unafraid
of using her sex as a tool.

That's something
that we very rarely see

with female characters.

Often they're victims, or they
don't realize their power,

or they're so innocent.

For nomi,
sex is a means to an end.

I'm not saying
that it's a good thing,

and I'm not saying that that's
a healthy attitude to have,

but once again that's something
that is familiar

to gay men in their interactions
with each other

that I don't think straight men
or straight women

have experienced
in the same way.

Hey, stay with me.

Baume: Nomi has a chosen family
that she builds and looks after.

I'm not gonna say that it's
a healthy chosen family.

They all seem very fixated
on unhealthy sexual attention

with each other, but she's got
that chosen family,

and they look out
for each other.

That's one of the other reasons
that I think "showgirls"

resonates with gay men.

When one of her friends
is bashed, she bashes back.

And so that's a revenge fantasy

that a lot of queer people
have experienced,

that we've been victimized
by straight white men

who are in charge,
who are running the world,

and to realize
that we have power

and that we can derive power
from our sexuality as nomi does

is a very empowering message.

Schmader:
I'd been doing the screenings

and touring a bit
and finally came...

I was working at
the stranger newspaper,

and I came to work one day,

and there was
a voicemail message there

from somebody at mgm saying
I needed to call them back.

And I was absolutely sure

it was gonna be
the cease-and-desist order

that I'd been waiting for.

But it wasn't.

They were excited
about what I was doing,

and they invited me
to record the commentary

for the special edition
"showgirls" DVD.

And after that,
everything changed

because once I had
their vote of confidence,

they were happy with me touring.

Once they had a product
that they could sell

in this new framing
of "showgirls"

as not a hard-hitting,
sexy "raging bull"

like they tried
with the first launch.

So that was a shock.

I was ready
for a cease and desist,

and my "showgirls" thing would
have been six months of my life

instead of 20 years.

Sconce: In 2003, I was asked
to contribute to a special forum

on "showgirls"
in film quarterly,

and I was glad
to do so at that time

because by then my opinion
of the film had really changed.

I'll admit the first time
I saw it,

I thought that it was kind of

just a really confusing,
out-of-control film

that didn't make much sense.

But I think it's easy just to
sort of see it as a failed film.

What are you looking at, bitch?

All right, you guys. Let's go.
Let's move it.

Come on. Go, go, go, go.

J nanananalj

j ahh-ahh ahh-ahhh j

j nanananalj

sconce: But again, I think
that's because most people

come to the movies now
with this idea

that films have to be
realistic or naturalistic.

If you see it a second time,
you start to realize

that some of the scenes
are being performed and shot

in a way that is antirealist,
right, that they really...

There's something going on there
beyond kind of failed realism.

Once I kind of made the jump,
you know, the leap of faith

into the world that was
being created by that film,

I've just loved it ever since,
and not in a, you know,

camp sort of
"it's so bad it's good" way,

but as a really interesting
hyperstylized bit of filmmaking

you just don't see much
in modern Hollywood.

All right. Where are we headed?
You have to give me directions.

To your place.

Sconce: The scene that really
sort of made me realize

there's something else
going on in this film

that's much more interesting
than the film

I'd seen in my mind before

was the whole seduction scene

between Kyle maclachlan
and Elizabeth berkley...

The swimming pool scene.

And, you know, if you watch
this scene with an audience,

people just start laughing.

And I think it's obviously...
It's meant to be funny

because it is just...
Just crazy.

There is a certain cynicism,
I think,

in a lot of verhoeven's work,

in the kind of way
everybody in that scenario

it just using each other
and performing

these different roles
to each other

and overperforming them,
how they're all essentially

just these kind of
two-dimensional

avatars of greed or avarice
or whatever.

Is this meant to be
a portrayal of sex,

or is this meant to be
a portrayal of acting?

Seeing as this is all being
staged in her attempts

to advance her career,

it's kind of the ultimate,
you know,

"was that real?
Was that not real?”

Kind of performance.

Nayman: The choreography in that
dolphin-fountain sex scene

so mirrors nomi's lap dance,

you know, for Kyle maclachlan's
character at the cheetah.

There it was,
"look, don't touch."

Now it's actual sort of sex.

There's an idea of a barrier
between them

that's kind of been broken.

You know, she's kind of
in his house now.

He was in her establishment
earlier,

and the sort of warm-up,

like, the sex that she had faked
with him before

has kind of become real,
but this isn't making love.

I mean, this is a transaction
as much as anything else.

This is so she can be
in the show

and sort of replace cristal
and shore up her place

within that hierarchy
in the stardust.

The film's view of the world

is someone is always
on their way up,

and someone is kind of
always on their way down.

You guys, let me through!

Oh, my god.

Schmader: After the pool scene,
I stopped and asked

how many straight men
are in the audience,

and how many lesbians,

and if anyone is even close
to being turned on,

and the answer is always no.

A great question
about "showgirls"

is how it wound up being
the least sexy movie ever made.

This is another motif.

There's a point
when cristal Connors

pulls down nomi's shirt,
and her boobs are out again.

And they try to play it
like a big reveal,

and it's like,
"hello, old friends."

We've been...
Like, you cannot...

Her boobs have been out
for an hour and a half by then.

You cannot play it
for a big reveal

that she is now
showing her boobs.

Kidwell: I think Paul verhoeven,
with his history,

the way
that he directs actresses,

it's more scary
than actually sexy.

Woman: Six, seven, eight...

It's all stereotypes.

All the characters
are stereotypes.

And the white males
are fucking creeps,

or they're gay.

- Nice dress.
- Thanks, it's a "versayce."

- Woman: It's a what?
- "Versayce."

- A what?
- "Versayce," bitch.

Kidwell: Absolutely you can be
both a feminist

and a fan of "showgirls."

We had such a magical time
making "showgirls! The musical!"

And it was a hit, and we played
at three different homes.

Hello, Las Vegas!
I'm nomi Malone!

Kidwell: We were so incredibly
well received in New York,

but in San Francisco, it was...

We got full standing ovations
I think almost every night.

What I do in "showgirls,"
taking my top off,

performing on stage
wearing a thong,

it's the most empowering thing.

Getting up in people's faces
with my boobs,

it's empowering,
and it's, like, I'm on stage,

and I'm the bravest person
in this room

because I'm the one
who's naked up here

and singing and dancing
and having fun,

and I feel like I'm, you know,
a part of a sisterhood

and supporting, you know,

Elizabeth berkley's choices
in "showgirls," the film,

by getting up and saying,
"hey, I'm gonna do it, too.

What do y'all got to say?"

Molly:
Got any family you can call?

I don't have any family.

Any friends?

I don't have any friends.

So where are you from?

Different places!

Kidwell: Nomi's introduction to
Vegas is what I would imagine

would be pretty standard
for most...

For a lot of people
of that age, you know,

but she's also a special case
because she's the kind of broad

who walks around with a chip
on her shoulder,

and she's a magnet to trouble.

That was not my case,
being a 16-year-old mormon girl

just coming to Vegas so...

Nearest family members?

Kidwell: I don't have a good
relationship with my parents.

You know,
I'm legally disowned and...

- Deceased?
Kidwell: Felt like a...

Yes.

Kidwell.:
A street rat for a while.

I love this film.

I love it for strange,
unexpected reasons.

It's kind of a hero's journey

in the most unlikely
of protagonists.

It's like, "oh, god!"
It's like a lamp goes up, yeah?

Kidwell: Paul verhoeven had
his own vision of the film.

It makes for juicy,
dramatic storytelling,

but when you're
actually living it,

it's a nauseating feeling.

In 2011, I ended up in New York,

bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
and ready to become a star.

And so I was working for a while
as a karaoke dj and just,

you know, New York story,
barely scraping by, but happy.

When I was working
as a karaoke dj,

I got drugged by a lone patron,
the last patron of the night,

and he took me home,
and he raped me.

And destroyed my world,

and I had crippling PTSD,

and I didn't have the services
to support myself.

I was living off of savings
that were draining.

I eventually got evicted.

I was not able to work.
I couldn't function.

I had stopped speaking
for a few months.

After that happened, I lost,
like, 10 pounds in a week.

It was horrifying,
and I couldn't afford

the medication that I needed,
and it was bad.

And so then I had a boyfriend
at that time

who was so benevolent
and such an angel,

and he saw a post
for "bayside! The musical!"

The audition for it, and he...

I remember him holding my hand
and telling me,

"I would be really proud of you
if you went to this audition."

So I did.

And I sang a song about
molestation that I made up,

and everybody laughed,
and I got it.

I got Jessie spano.

J bayside high j

because my character,
Jessie spano,

was addicted to caffeine pills

and having panic attacks
on stage,

my whole role was just, like,
a meltdown... crazy-time.

It's about Jessie.

I think that she's been
taking drugs.

Zack: Drugs? Are you crazy?

Kidwell: It was miraculously
a very cathartic

artistic experience for me.

I was able to channel
my panic attacks

I was having
in my personal life,

dealing with living with PTSD...

Jessie!

J I'm so excited! J

I'm so scared.

Kidwell:
And channel that on stage

and just let it go
and work it out

'cause I couldn't afford
a therapist at the time.

I did three years
without therapy,

so doing "bayside!"

Was my first step with therapy.

Schmader: Shifting tones

is a big distinct fact
of "showgirls,"

where you think
you're watching a comedy,

and then you're watching
a weird drama,

and then you're
watching something sexy,

and you're watching
something gross...

Um, Molly is
one of your biggest fans.

Well, then,
let me get you a drink.

Schmader:
And with the rape scene,

the tone shifts really abruptly

to hard-core, second-to-second
depiction of a sexual assault,

like the way
that "the accused” had,

but "the accused”
spent 90 boring minutes

setting up the foundation
to earn that scene,

and in "showgirls" it just
doesn't seem earned at all.

What's going on?

Schmader: I tell the audience
what happens, like,

"in this scene,
for some reason, Molly Abrams,

the only decent human
in the film,

is brutally beaten and
gang-raped with no motivation,

and we're going to skip it."

Mlotek: "Showgirls" never misses
an opportunity

to crucify a woman when it can,
and it's sort of like,

watching it, "what's the point?
What are you trying to say?

What are you trying to tell us?"

And with Paul verhoeven
especially,

when you look at a movie
like "showgirls,"

where he's like,

"oh, you guys are so titillated
by sexual violence.

I'm going to show you
real sexual violence.

Then you'll know how bad it is.”

It's like,
"who are you talking to?"

Because you're certainly
not talking to the women

who are watching this movie,
because we know.

You're talking as a man
who is both convinced

that you have never been
a perpetrator of sexual violence

or that you know any
perpetrators of sexual violence,

which is misogyny at its worst,

this insidious belief
that bad men hide in the shadows

and comprise less than 1%
of the population,

that you'll never
really meet them,

and so you need a film
like "showgirls"

to show you what evil
can actually look like.

Schmader: The worst violence
in the movie happens to her,

and it's like her brutalization

becomes nomi's opportunity
to redeem herself.

Is she okay?

She's okay.

Schmader: What you can see

is a kind of
interracial solidarity...

I love you.

Schmader: Or even a kind of
class solidarity

or feminist solidarity,

or it's just the rankest
kind of exploitation.

Sconce:
Paul verhoeven seems to obsessed

with violent sexual scenes
or rape scenes

because they appear
in many of his films.

Aaah!

Mlotek: Look, there's no other
way to say this,

but the one place
I think that succeeds...

Ew, I'm sorry...
Is in "robocop,"

where it is played for such
a straightforward laugh

in that the most obvious form
of justice

for an attempted rape
is a literal castration.

Aah!

Mlotek: Yes, that's how a robot
who had the brain

of a former Detroit police
officer would think of it.

Aah!

I like you better topless.

Wait till you see me bottomless.

Mlotek: I think a lot about the
scene at the end of the movie

where nomi somehow gets revenge
by beating up Andrew carver,

and that's presented
as though it's empowering,

and I find that to be, like,
the most cynical thing...

Next time,
I'll fucking kill you.

Mlotek: That a woman
would find real justice

in handing out more pain...

Because she knows that there are

no structures of justice
available to her.

That's not misogyny itself.

That's just a depiction
of the way misogyny works.

But it is extremely cynical
that we are supposed to see that

as triumph in some sense,
for either character,

for nomi or for Molly.

Fuck off!

J it's a fine line j

j between a whore
and a warrior j

kidwell: What makes up
for the rape scene in the film

is nomi's revenge.

J nobody knows me j

kidwell.: It's my favorite scene
in the musical.

The song is called "whorrior!"

A whore and a warrior combined.

J the whorrior j

it's like a whore
and a warrior combined!

J 'cause I'm... I'm a whorrior j

kidwell:
Every Lyric, every note,

every roundhouse kick

is therapeutic,
cathartic, just joy...

Nomi: Fucker! Fuck off!

Kidwell: And that is my song.

J whorrior j

kidwell: I carry it with me.

J that's like a whore
and a warrior combined j

kidwell.: It's positive
and powerful and weird

having that protagonist

as actually a character
that's so cathartic

and helped me move
to my best self

and my new life
that's actually really happy

and joyous and healthy
and positive and supportive

and all the good things
people want in life.

Nayman: We all of us
have this relationship

to artists we admire.

As a critic, you have
to be careful

because you're not
writing for them,

and you need
to remain objective.

You know, I didn't write this
book so the director of the film

I'm writing about
could sort of like it.

The fact that he did, and that
we had some pretty interesting,

serious, long conversations
about that film

and other things and...
It's really nice.

That he went out of his way
to be in touch

because the film is described
in the book as being good.

I mean, I don't think
in retrospect

he finds all of this to be

like a fascinating
learning experience

about changing tastes and stuff.

He made "starship troopers”
after because the machinery

had already been moving to make
a big special effects film,

and he made "hollow man,"
and that's it, you know?

"Black book" and "tricked"
and "Elle"

are all made in Europe.

Schmader: I did an interview
with Kyle maclachlan.

I was film editor
for the stranger,

and he was here
for being honored

at Seattle international film
festival for his body of work,

and I did an interview with him,
and I wasn't gonna be the jerk

who brought up "showgirls,"
but he did.

I don't think
he knows about this,

about what we have
going on here,

but he was ready to talk about
"showgirls" on his own,

and he held forth on,
"no, we were making a drama.

We were directed
to huge, outsized emotions

while trying to make this drama,
and we just followed it."

And he wanted me to take away
the moral of, like,

"do not believe that any of us
on that crew or cast

thought we were making anything
except a hard-hitting drama."

Conway: So in an effort
to answer my...

One of my own question about

what was Elizabeth berkley's
experience in real life like,

having to deal with
the aftermath

of what I call the critical
devastation that she was handed

after the release
of "showgirls,"

I started to go
onto the Internet

and do searches
for her appearances,

and the first one I found

was an appearance
on "handmade modern"...

- Oldham: Come on out, Elizabeth.
- Hi, Todd.

- Yay!
- How are you?

Conway: In 2005.

That was an hgtv show
hosted by Todd oldham.

You just see him salivating.

You just know he's dying to
go there, and finally he does.

I've never done string art.

I know you've had a couple of
costumes about this big, but...

Yeah, about that big.
That's about it.

It's funny
because that movie, yeah,

it definitely was met
with a lot of controversy

when it initially came out,
and then, funny enough,

it has found
this interesting little life,

like this either
cult kind of favorite, you know?

Because again, like,
if something doesn't do well,

it can just die
on some video shelf,

you never hear about it.

It strangely found
this interesting...

Interesting life
after that, so...

Conway: So there's some
recognition there that it was,

in fact, a bomb,
but almost a little sweet that,

you know, people are
still talking about it.

Of course, she doesn't
really go on about

how they're talking about it,

but at least
it's being talked about.

In 2008, she appeared
with Chelsea handler

on her talk show...

Let's move on
to "showgirls," though,

because I know that
that was, like,

one hot mess of a movie, okay?

It was.

Conway: And it seems like

the first time
that I could find that,

on TV, somebody sort of crosses
the line and points out

that the movie was actually
a mess in front of her.

And then Elizabeth
pieces together

this alternate reading
of the film,

which I think is brilliant.

It's this kind of
just over-the-top, fun movie,

which is what it was
intended to be,

and now people have really found
the fun in it.

Conway: It was intended
as a fun, over-the-top movie.

I just thought
that was brilliant,

to start retelling the story
of what this film is,

has been to so many people,
so, good for her.

You got a lot
of heat for that movie.

Berkley: It was hard.

It was hard
when it first came out,

and I had to really deal
with it on my own

because no one really
came to my defense,

which was really painful
at a really young age.

Conway:
At the end of "showgirls,"

when nomi heads to Los Angeles,

maybe nomi marries the nephew
of one of the richest designers

who was ever on this planet

and has a child
and lives in Beverly Hills

and becomes a vegetarian.

I don't know.

Zack: Hey, babe.
You ready to drive?

Jessie: Yeah, uh-huh.
What is that?

- They're drive pills.
- Drive pills?

J I'm so excited j

baume: I know that
Elizabeth berkley

recently made fun
of her "saved by the bell"

"I'm so excited, I'm so excited,
I'm so scared,”

on "dancing with the stars."

J I'm so excited j

j and I just can't hide it j

j no, no, no, no j

I would love to see her enjoying
all the love and attention

that she's gotten from
camp audiences for "showgirls."

Wyatt: In the 20-year history
of the film "showgirls,"

there has never, ever been

so large an assemblage of people
to see this film.

I think we should have someone
who worked on the film

say a few words.

Schmader:
I love that she showed up

for that Hollywood forever
screening in L.A.

And introduced the film.

I understand she got
a standing ovation.

Can I do your nails sometime?

Man: Yes, mama!

Schmader: I'm so glad that she
can plug into this second life.

This is such a special night.
You don't even know.

This is 20 years in the making.

I can't believe I'm here
with you.

4,000 people.

Tonight is like this magical
full-circle moment

where I actually
didn't get to experience

the sweetness of a screening
with a crowd that embraced it.

I'm gonna send you off
to enjoy this amazing night,

but I'm gonna just do
one thing for you.

Woman: Uh-oh! Man: Yes!

Let the show begin.

Schmader:
There's a sense of, like,

who's right about "showgirls"...

The people who think
it's a terrible joke,

or the people who think it's
a misunderstood masterpiece?

And it's, like, we're all right.
It's a dream.

Nayman:
It's been redeemed commercially.

It's been reclaimed
artistically.

It's been sort of reconciled
by the person who made it

with some of the people
he made it with,

and I think that "showgirls"

is a film
that you cannot give it its due

by simply praising it
or by simply condemning it.

You give it its due by allowing

that both of these things
are possible at once,

and that's the respect
that it deserves,