I’ll admit it, I’m a fan of Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls. Since my first viewing, it has been one of my guilty pleasures. I stumbled across it by chance after discovering that it starred Elizabeth Berkeley, aka Jessie from Saved by the Bell, but I was instantly hooked on its over the top acting, insane plot, and excessive (and unnecessary nudity). For years I thought I was on my own in my appreciation of the glitzy mess, but now thanks to new documentary You Don’t Nomi, it seems I’m not alone.
April Kidwell plays Nomi Malone in the stage production of “Showgirls! The Musical!”
Credit: Peaches Christ Productions
For those unfamiliar with Showgirls, the story follows headstrong young woman Nomi Malone (Berkley) who heads to Las Vegas, determined to make it as a top showgirl. After getting work at a strip club, she has a chance encounter with Cristal (Gina Gershon), the star attraction at the legendary Stardust Hotel, and her boyfriend Zack (Kyle MacLachlan). After piquing Cristal’s interest, Nomi soon finds herself on the Stardust’s roster of dancers. It soon becomes clear though that Nomi’s ambition will see her stop at nothing to achieve her dream of power, wealth, and success. But is it all worth it?
Pieced together through stock footage from the film, as well as interviews with the cast and crew from the lead up to release, You Don’t Nomi seeks to discover whether Showgirls warrants its bad reputation. Is it a terrible joke, misunderstood masterpiece, or just simply the Schrödinger’s cat of films? The documentary tackles all sides of the argument, though is clearly more aligned to the misunderstood faction. It features excerpts of the initial wave of negative reviews but seeks to address how many of them just failed to grasp the point of the movie.
The journey begins with a look at the work of Verhoeven and where Showgirls sits amongst them. This section examines his pre-Hollywood features and how elements in them would be continued on through his entire body of work, which of course includes Showgirls. Here they highlight all of Verhoeven’s little quirks (like a main character spontaneously vomiting) and his excellent use of the camera to tell his stories. After watching this film, it’ll be hard to watch Showgirls again without searching for all the hidden meanings within each frame. Examples include various instances of character’s fates being foreshadowed early on, and how the reliance on mirror shots actually house a multitude of undertones.
You Don’t Nomi then moves onto to the work of Verhoeven’s former writing collaborator, Joe Eszterhas. These treasures are namely that the women are always chatting to each other about their nails, potato chips, or about both; also the ludicrous way that the dancers all talk about eating nothing but brown rice and vegetables as if that is the magic formula to being a high-class performer. By examining the film in such detail, happily pointing out its faults but giving reasons why you should give it a chance anyway, director Jeffrey McHale is admitting the film is terrible, but also terribly entertaining.
The tone then shifts slightly as we get a look into the impact that the film had on Elizabeth Berkley’s career. The film then visits a cabaret club that regularly hosts screenings of the film accompanied by a cast of Drag Queens, before taking a closer look at the Showgirls musical (yes folks it exists). Here we are shown the cult that the film has spawned, and surprisingly, how it has helped some people deal with traumatic parts of their lives. Once again things get rather poignant, and hearing the words of the true fans whose lives have been enriched by the film, adds an unexpectedly emotional gravitas to the piece.
With the majority of the analysis coming via faceless narration, settling down to watch You Don’t Nomi feels very much like putting on the most thorough audio commentary ever recorded. Despite being accompanied by so many film clips, we might as well be watching Showgirls itself; I guarantee that you’ll be scheduling a re-watch of Verhoeven’s sleaze-fest in the near future.
You Don’t Nomi is available on Digital, on-demand, and in open cinemas in the U.S. from today, and on Digital HD in the UK from Friday 12th June 2020.
