Pop Culture Happy Hour: “Showgirls” (September 25, 2025)

Overview

In this episode, the Pop Culture Happy Hour team reunites to mark the 30th anniversary of Paul Verhoeven’s infamous 1995 film Showgirls. Once a notorious flop that scandalized critics and audiences, the film has since been embraced as a camp classic and cited as a window into 1990s cultural anxieties about sex, gender, and art. Host Linda Holmes leads the discussion with regulars Aisha Harris and guest commentators Chris Klimek and Barry Hardyman, each bringing a distinct perspective on the film’s legacy—its excesses, its controversies, its fleeting moments of brilliance, and its role in Hollywood’s treatment of women, particularly its lead, Elizabeth Berkley.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Showgirls Phenomenon: From Flop to Camp Classic

• Initial Reception and Reputation

  • The film’s release (directed by Paul Verhoeven, written by Joe Eszterhas) was met with cultural outrage: “Critics howled and self-appointed guardians of good taste were horrified." (Linda Holmes, 00:16)
  • Noted for its NC-17 rating, abundant nudity, and over-the-top performances.
  • Showgirls bombed on release but earned cult status, especially in LGBTQ+ communities. Comparison to the interactive legacy of Rocky Horror Picture Show. (Barry Hardyman, 06:19)

• Camp Value and Social Viewing

  • Many fans find Showgirls works best as a communal, participatory experience. Harris calls it “the type of movie that... really benefits from having an audience with you or at least a couple of other people to laugh about it with you.” (Aisha Harris, 04:16)

2. Performance, Direction, and Intention

• Elizabeth Berkley’s Notorious Turn as Nomi

  • Berkley's frenetic energy and extreme emotional responses are central to the film’s offbeat appeal.
  • “The commitment is right there in the way that Elizabeth Berkley, as Nomi, thrashes around, responds very, very over aggressively and over enthusiastically about everything.” (Aisha Harris, 04:46)
  • Chris Klimek argues Berkley is unfairly scapegoated: “Paul Verhoeven has said that he directed her to play every scene at 11 ... I feel badly for her because... she had the time of her life making this movie. She worked so hard. ... After this, her agent drops her.” (Chris Klimek, 14:28)

• Directorial Choices and Uneven Tone

  • Verhoeven's penchant for satirical excess, here transferred from violence (in earlier works like Robocop and Total Recall) to sex.
  • The group questions whether audiences (and critics) would have forgiven a male actor for a performance so pitched to excess, as compared to reaction to Berkley.

3. Dealing with Difficult Material

• Sexual Assault Scene and its Aftermath

  • The infamous assault on a secondary character (Molly) is described as a “very big tonal shift” from the film’s otherwise campy, outlandish mood. (Linda Holmes, 07:29)
  • “Not only quite a brutal sexual assault, it is such a terrible way to treat the only character of color.” (Barry Hardyman, 07:41)
  • Klimek notes the brevity of the scene makes it feel even more exploitative, as it’s used mainly as a plot device to spur the white protagonist’s revenge arc. (Chris Klimek, 08:40)

• Conflicted Enjoyment

  • Barry recounts being unable to “catch the fun vibe” when watching alone as an adult, versus with friends in earlier years. (Barry Hardyman, 06:49)
  • Multiple panelists grapple with the tension between viewing the movie as “so-bad-it's-good” fun or as problematic exploitation, particularly of Berkley and the film's women in general.

4. Hollywood Industry, Sex, and Punishment

• Women’s Careers vs. Men’s

  • Sharp inequity in how Showgirls affected Berkley versus male collaborators (Verhoeven, Eszterhas, Kyle MacLachlan).
  • “She never got to have a second act. Whereas Paul Verhoeven goes on to have multiple movies... there's this kind of utter... all men... who make movies in which ... the actresses are treated so badly.” (Barry Hardyman, 15:47)
  • The casting of a former teen star in a hypersexualized role seen as a recurring pattern in Hollywood for actresses trying to break into adult status. (Aisha Harris, 17:03)

• Cultural Response to Sex Work

  • The movie (and contemporary audiences) are uncomfortable with a narrative centered on a woman who “had done sex work, who was trying to sort of have some kind of dignity about herself and her life.” (Linda Holmes, 11:02)
  • “The film itself has, like, a weird relationship between this idea of sex work and how it should feel about the Elizabeth Berkley's character...” (Aisha Harris, 12:55)
  • Dialogue like “I'm not a whore.” / “Well, we're all whores. We all take the money.” resonates as a complicated reflection on the industry's moralizing. (Aisha Harris referencing film, 13:28)

5. Enduring Legacy

• Reclamation & Cult Value

  • The show references the documentary You Don't Nomi as a touchstone for understanding the legacy and “afterlife” of Showgirls.
  • The film’s afterlife as a favorite for drag shows and midnight screenings.

• On Enjoying the Film Today

  • Barry: “I find myself able to have fun with this movie when I have completely divorced it from any context whatsoever.” (Barry Hardyman, 17:54)
  • The struggle to appreciate Showgirls as genuine satire, or simply as misguided spectacle, illustrates its ongoing divisiveness.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Spectacle and Absurdity

  • “Her entire approach to acting is that she looks like she’s going to make out with everyone all the time, in every situation.” (Linda Holmes, 05:47)
  • “It’s terrible. But I think part of what makes it so good and what has made it become the camp classic that it is is the fact that everyone is so committed to this movie.” (Aisha Harris, 04:37)

• On Watching with an Audience

  • “It was introduced to me as this camp classic... where everybody knew every line, there was just raucous whooping and hollering... it felt like watching Rocky Horror.” (Barry Hardyman, 06:19)

• On Industry Double Standards

  • “It’s the kind of thing that we never punish when, say, Tom Cruise does it or Christian Bale does it... but I don’t think the fact that it's bad is necessarily her [Berkley’s] fault.” (Chris Klimek, 14:49)

• On Processing the Film’s Contradictions

  • “I can only have fun with it when I’m enjoying the terribleness of the dialogue, the ridiculousness of the headpieces, and not thinking about the context...” (Barry Hardyman, 17:54)

Suggested Listening Timestamps

• Film's Infamous Reputation & Plot Setup — 00:16–04:16
• Panelist Personal Histories with Showgirls — 04:16–06:48
• Camp Appeal and Audience Experience — 06:19–06:49
• Dealing with the Assault Sequence & Film’s Shifts — 07:29–09:10
• Paul Verhoeven’s Career & Directorial Style — 08:40–10:21
• Industry Sexism & Aftermath for Berkley — 14:28–17:03
• Satire, Enjoyment, and Modern Readings — 17:54–18:40

Closing & Further Resources

• The team references the documentary You Don't Nomi for those interested in further exploring Showgirls’ critical afterlife and cultural impact. (18:56)
• The episode closes with an invitation for listener feedback and recommendations for further pop culture discussion.

Summary prepared for those seeking insights on the cultural, artistic, and social legacy of Showgirls—without having to watch (or rewatch) the film, or listen to the whole podcast episode.