You Don't Nomi

In its exploration of the legacy of Showgirls, the documentary You Don’t Nomi separates itself from the bulk of its non-fiction peers by refusing to take a definitive stance.

More interested in the debate surrounding the evolving perception of Paul Verhoeven’s notorious flop than crowning a winning side regarding its quality, director/editor Jeffrey McHale gives comparable attention to its defenders, haters, and those who’ve embraced its campiness to various degrees.

As entertaining as it is educational, You Don’t Nomi refreshingly keeps these talking heads disembodied and instead presents an expertly assembled stream of clips from Showgirls and a treasure trove of archival footage from the set.

Likewise keeping the pace active is McHale’s witty use of snippets from other Verhoeven films to help illustrate points — e.g. Arnold Schwarzenegger in Total Recall reading Showgirls reviews on a futuristic screen and reacting to its more bizarre clips — and spotlight consistencies (both good and bad) across the director’s filmography.

Upon thoroughly chronicling the production’s issues and the baggage brought by its cast and crew, McHale nimbly pivots to loop in Showgirls’ second life as a cult classic, setting up a fascinating interplay between predominately male critics defending the film and female critics poking holes in their colleagues’ claims and adding sledgehammer-sized damage in return.

Further including the midnight movie events and spinoff creations that Showgirls’ unique history has spawned, You Don’t Nomi also takes time to investigate the problematic tradition of child stars — in this case, Saved By the Bell’s Elizabeth Berkley — taking on a provocative role to break out, plus the intriguing trend of filmmakers’ revisionist history regarding their original intentions with a misunderstood work.

While viewers who adore camp will almost certainly disagree, the cumulative result of McHale’s work joins The Room dramatization The Disaster Artist as tangental films far more captivating and enjoyable than the messes they explore. Bad as Showgirls is, it’s still somewhat of a rite of passage for cinephiles, but for those uninterested in taking the confounding plunge, You Don’t Nomi will more than suffice.

Grade: A-minus. Not rated, but with adult language, content, and graphic nudity. Available on DVD/Blu-ray, and to rent via Apple, Amazon Video and other streaming platforms

(Photo: MGM)