'You Don't Nomi' validates secret fans of 'Showgirls'

You Don't Nomi is not some smug, snarky takedown of the infamous 'bad' movie Showgirls. Instead, it seriously and soberly explores what makes the movie unforgettable. For instance, I have never taken into account the craftsmanship and its sheer guts.

Adam Nayman, the author of Showgirls: It Doesn't Suck, makes a very compelling case for the movie, in softs tones that belie his earnestness but also his intellect about movies, which is prodigious. For instance he raises the uniquely 90s-2000s phenomenon where there are movies like Forrest Gump and American Beauty, that we convinced ourselves were great and now cinephiles almost universally understand to be bad.

And of course the opposite can be and is often true. People see the value in Cruising now. Blade Runner is now considered required viewing. People forget that a movie like Jurassic Park was not beloved by film critics -- diminished as a theme park ride -- its now valued as one of the great blockbusters. I could go on and on.

Ironically enough, Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers was able to make that transition for whatever reason. People see that it was a very savagely funny satire of America. Nayman posits that Verhoeven's more violent work, rather than his more sexual stuff, was always taken more seriously as art because of the inherent bias of American audiences.

Anyway, Showgirls hasn't quite reached an Ishtar level of modern re-evaluation but its become such a big part of the cultural firmament -- that it was probably inevitable that it would start to be re-examined.

Elizabeth Berkley

Most people would probably concede that the film can be enjoyed as camp but would stop short of suggesting it's some sort of secret masterpiece. And the filmmakers do a smart thing -- in the same style as Room 237 -- instead of boring talking heads you get voiceover from various dissenters and adorers of the film, with clips from other Verhoeven movies often illustrating a narrative.

Some believe (and there is ample evidence to support this) that Verhoeven was very sincere and earnest in his efforts to make a hard-hitting backstage drama about showbiz, while others believe he had his tongue firmly planted in his cheek. Some see Showgirls as a story of liberation and other see it as one of the most nakedly misogynist works in cinema history.

Some would even argue that it is and can be all those things.

My own relationship with the movie has evolved over the years. My first exposure to it was probably as an immature teen, curious about all the NC-17 salaciousness. Then one deduces that the film doesn't work as titillation (you almost become numb to the nudity) but it does have a certain brazen  excess to it that is pretty spectacular.

I've started to get to a place where I can say the movie is a mess -- but it an endlessly entertaining and inventive mess. It probably shares some DNA with some of Russ Meyer's movies, which have ideas in them but those ideas are far from profound and probably aren't always landing the way they're intended.

I do believe Verhoeven to be a smart and serious film director -- who, as the film explores in great detail -- definitely seems to have some issues with women (they are often violators or the violated in his films). I think Elle is brilliant. I think Robocop, Total Recall, Basic Instinct and Starship Troopers are all pretty unassailable.

Showgirls isn't in their league, but it definitely has its director's over-the-top style all over it. And after all these years, I guess I can admit I am a fan. And if like me, you are, You Don't Nomi is probably the most thorough and thoughtful examination of the movie's merits and impact you'll ever see. Certainly, I don't think I'll ever look at Showgirls quite the same way again.