52: Showgirls; Or, Jessie Spano Goes to Vegas (Classic)

Mar 12 2024 • 41 mins

It’s Oscars season! Whether or not you recognized this national holiday by tuning into the awards show on Sunday, you probably know all the drama that comes with those little golden statues - the glamor, the glitz, the snubs. And speaking of snubs, one film that had nary a nomination was the focus of today’s classic: Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls. Enjoy (as long as you’re over 17)!

~~~

Does your Venn Diagram of interests include Dale Cooper, Saved by the Bell, and Robocop? Also, are you 17 or older? Then you're in luck! Because in 1995, after achieving cinematic fame with Basic Instinct, Paul Verhoeven and Joe Eszterhaz teamed up for another film, this time set in the world of Las Vegas exotic dancers and show business, and the results were...controversial.

Rob teaches Ray about Verhoeven's original vision for "Showgirls" as a satirical commentary on the American Dream, and how that vision went awry; the communities that sprang up to champion the movie after it bombed at the box office; why to steer clear of Las Vegas jacuzzis; and how changing a piece of art from its original form can help it live on, but might also misrepresent its creators' original intentions.

If you like what we’re doing, please support us on Patreon, or you can subscribe to our bonus content on Apple Podcasts. And we’d love to find even more listeners, so if you have time, please leave us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And if you have any other thoughts or feedback you’d like to share with us, we’d love to hear from you - feel free to email us or send us a message on social media.