Apparently while I wasn’t looking the discussion circled around to “this was always secretly good,” so let’s go ahead and test THAT claim.

Special thanks to Chelsea for commissioning this episode! You can find out more about commissions on our Patreon.

Today we were set a daunting challenge: find something that hasn’t yet been said about infamous cinematic trainwreck Showgirls. As the modern conversation swings from “reclaimed camp” to “was it in fact Good Actually all along” following the release of the documentary YOU DON’T NOMI, it felt like time to wade into those claims. What the hell was Showigirls trying to do, anyway?

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of racism, ableism, homophobia, misogyny, rape culture, sexual assault, whorephobia, fatphobia, drug use, ageism, and auteur bullshit.

Showgirls! The Musical!

You Don’t Nomi

0:30 Commission Stuff
3:00 Content Warnings
5:00 In Summary
18:30 Some Notes on Camp
24:00 Eszterhas v Verhoeven
29:00 A Second Bite at Flashdance
40:00 Versayce (The Characterization Problem)
48:00 Showgirl History
52:00 Failed Satire

Say hi to Dorothy and Vrai on Twitter @writervrai and @dorothynotgale

Our icon was designed by Allison Shabet.

Get bonus episodes on our Patreon

Join us every two weeks on Soundcloud, iTunes or Stitcher – and if you’d leave a rating and review, so that more people can find their way to us, we’d appreciate it!

This post is made possible by kind contributors to this blog’s Patreon. If you like what you’ve read, please consider donating to help keep it running.