Cert 18 Stars 4

Showgirls was an unforgettable sleazy and bare-cheeked erotic drama and the biggest box office flop of 1995, yet as this documentary shows it was far more knowingly subversive than credited at the time.

Derided for being crude and exploitative by those who failed to see the satire in the film’s madly camp excess, Showgirls made a profit on home video where people were able watch it in the seclusion of their own home, it’s second coming sees it enjoying sold out screenings, being embraced by the drag artist community and adapted as a stage musical.

Starring Elizabeth Berkley as a dancer trying to climb the seedy Las Vegas pole from stripper to showgirl, Showgirls was directed by Dutch master Paul Verhoeven flush with success from his Basic Instinct featuring a crotch-flashing Sharon Stone.

We see how Showgirls fits perfectly within the scope of his other deliriously over the top films such as Starship Troopers and Robocop which also heavily feature nudity, vomit and violence. You Don’t Nomi is so enjoyable immediately afterwards I re-watched Showgirls. Twice.