Summary
Trash or masterpiece? This documentary makes a compelling argument in either direction, tracing the redemptive path of one of the most critically lampooned films of all time.
It’s a fact that Showgirls is one of the greatest films of the 20th century. If you disagree with that opinion, you should probably bail out now. Or better yet, stick around while we dive into a documentary proselytising the virtues of one of the most critically bashed films of all time.
Released in 1995 with the intention of being an NC-17 box office smash, Showgirls came off the back of the success of director Paul Verhoeven and Joe Eszterhas’ Basic Instinct. Starring Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle McLachlan, and Gina Gershon, the basic narrative is a kind of All About Eve with nudity. Perhaps intended as a sharp satire, it instead won seven Razzies and became the butt of jokes for years to come.
Yet the story of Showgirls doesn’t end there. “I think we’re still talking about Showgirls,” says one commentator, “because we’re not done with it yet.” Taking an essayist’s approach, structured around archival interview clips and parts of Adam Nayman’s book It Doesn’t Suck: Showgirls, director Jeffrey McHale’s documentary traces the road to redemption of what is now considered a cult classic.
Posited as a lynchpin in the Trilogy of Camp – alongside Valley of the Dolls (1967) and Mommie Dearest (1981) – McHale spends a bit of time establishing Showgirls as part of a spectrum. There’s a straight comparison to the rest of Verhoeven’s oeuvre, placing it in the context of Turkish Delight (1973), The Fourth Man (1983), Robocop (1987), Total Recall (1990), and the later Black Book (2006). Here we see that Verhoeven’s satirical eye is accepted more widely if violence is the medium of discourse, but sexually explicit material is written off as trash.
Yet the most fun parts of the documentary are the deep dives into some of the more bizarre elements of the film. Nomi’s overreactions to virtually every human interaction seem less weird when juxtaposed with Berkley’s classic “I’m So Excited” scene from Saved By the Bell‘s addiction episode. There’s a case for the Doggy Chow scene being one of the most avant garde pieces of cinema history. The film also makes a compelling argument that chips and nails are the defining totems of Eszterhas’ writing.
Showgirls has experienced one of the stranger journeys of any cult film, from collector’s DVD box sets (complete with stick-on pasties) to a musical parody. McHale’s film is more than likely preaching to the converted though, and all these pieces of evidence are really just another way of collectively revisiting this debatable masterpiece. So, does the film conclude it’s a misunderstood classic or an overrated piece of trash? “We’re all right,” concludes one commentator. “It’s a dream.”
2019 | US | DIR: Jeffrey McHale | WRITER: Jeffrey McHale | FEATURED SUBJECTS: Adam Nayman, April Kidwell, David Schmader, Peaches Christ | DISTRIBUTOR: The Festival Agency, XYZ Films (World Sales), Melbourne International Film Festival (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 92 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 1 – 18 August 2019 (MIFF)
