The Cult of Showgirls
Anniversary edition brings attention to camp classic

Few movies inspire such love and hate as Paul Verhoeven’s 1995 “morality tale”/camp classic, Showgirls.

The new Blu-ray features hilarious extras, like pole-dancing lessons and a commentary by superfan David Shmader, titled “The Greatest Movie Ever Made.”

Showgirls is the story of Nomi Malone, played by Elizabeth Berkley in a manner that can best be summed up as “petulant slut.” Nomi hitches a ride to Las Vegas packing a switchblade and a dream. “I’m a dancer,” she tells the first of many men who’ll use and abuse her during a trip that ends with her headlining a Vegas topless review at a casino that has since been demolished.

Faster than you can lose at the craps table, Nomi is robbed and left with nowhere to go, until she meets and nearly vomits on sweet Molly Abrams (Gina Ravera), a costumer for Goddess, the “hit” show at the Stardust. Molly lets Nomi crash at her trailer, where the two bond over their love of chips and tacky nails.

Soon Molly introduces Nomi to the reigning Queen of Vegas, predatory lesbian Cristal Conners (played deliciously by Gina Gershon, who is the only actor who knows what kind of movie she’s in). Nomi becomes Cristal’s understudy, then her replacement. You haven’t lived until you’ve watched Berkley and Gershon spar.

The film’s cynical take on the highs and lows of fame could be viewed as a sublime satire of women behaving the way men who know nothing about women think they do, if not for a truly awful and vicious rape scene toward the end. You’re advised to fast forward through it.

Despite all the degradations Nomi endures, including her uproariously awful stint as a lap dancer at a “gentleman’s club,” she leaves Las Vegas with her dignity, switchblade and a newfound self-awareness.

Hard to believe, but Showgirls was primed to be a huge, groundbreaking event. It was the first big budget film rated NC-17. Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas received an unheard-of $2 million for the script. But the reviews were harsh, practically destroying Elizabeth Berkley’s career. 

We asked: Why has Showgirls cast such a rhinestone-studded spell over lovers of camp to become the Citizen Kane of trash cinema?

• Ron May, Valley actor/director, said “It’s ridiculous how much I love that movie. It’s so deliciously awful.”

• Joshua Grannell, a filmmaker who hosts Midnight Mass screenings in San Francisco as his alter ego Peaches Christ, is hosting a Showgirls event on Aug. 7 in San Francisco. “My favorite thing about Showgirls is how totally committed the movie and everyone in it was to making it so extreme. I think it succeeds because it’s so relentless and so much fun. It’s colorful, outrageous, bizarre, hilarious, depraved, and provides for a wonderful group viewing.  

• Zachary Jackson, host of Zack Attack Camp Cinema at the MADCAP Theaters loves Nomi and her pals. His favorite moment? “Nomi is sitting on the hood of her car above the flashing ‘Flamingo’ sign — eating a hamburger nonetheless — overlooking the Las Vegas strip during sunset. The scene lasts less than a minute, but I don’t know … there’s something beautiful about it.”  

• Actress Angelica Howland, who played Sister James in Actors Theatre’s Doubt, wasn’t so enamored of Berkley’s mastication prowess. “My favorite part is when Elizabeth Berkley can’t even eat a hamburger like a believable human being. My second favorite part is when she is thrashing around on Kyle McLaughlin in the pool and he’s barely able to hold on to her — the look on his face is hilarious — like, ‘What the hell? This gigantic, naked, psycho is gonna freakin’ break my back and drown me!’”

Quick Takes

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
Opening July 23 in limited release; Rated R; 2 hours

Director Jan Kounen’s gorgeous period piece Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky is a fascinating glimpse into of fashion and music a century ago, but it is also a powerful examination of the mentality of brilliant creators. Both Chanel and Stravinsky were passionate geniuses, but both had little or no concern for their actions, leading to pain for those around them.

Chanel meets Stravinsky in 1913, after attending the disastrous premiere of the ballet The Rite of Spring. In 1920, after the death of her lover Boy Capel, Chanel offered to sponsor Stravinsky, inviting him and his family to her villa. The two began a torrid affair under the nose of his sick wife.

The casual cruelty of the affair creates the major conflict in the film, and the performances by Anna Mouglalis, Mads Miklkelson and Yelena Morozova (as the cuckolded wife) are powerful. The Rite of Spring sequence is surprisingly suspenseful, showing the affect art has on close-minded people.

But overall, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky is a mild diversion that doesn’t quite measure up to its subjects.

Salt
Opening in theaters July 23;
Rated PG-13

Angelina Jolie knows how we love her — kicking ass and fighting for her life. In Salt, she plays a CIA agent on the run after being accused of being a Russian spy.

Dinner For Schmucks
Opening in theaters July 30;
Rated PG-13

Paul Rudd plays an executive whose cruel boss hosts dinner parties where the person who brings the biggest idiot with him wins. Rudd lucks out when he finds IRS agent Barry (Steve Carell).