You Don't Nomi

Jeffrey McHale's 2019 documentary is about how Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls, from 1995, turned into a cult work. The film met near-universal derision on release; over the years the same film began to be read differently. The documentary reaches no verdict. The critics and writers who speak argue opposing positions: some take the film as deliberate satire, some see it as a complete failure, and some say the distinction does not matter. McHale layers all those voices together. The visual material is drawn almost entirely from Showgirls itself and from Verhoeven's other films. That editing method is the documentary's strongest quality; set one scene beside another and the argument becomes directly visible. Who it's for: those interested in cult film culture and the history of criticism. Who it's not for: viewers who have not seen Showgirls; the documentary assumes detailed knowledge of it and contains explicit footage.