Welcome to Screen Gems, our weekend dive into queer and queer-adjacent titles of the past that deserve a watch or a rewatch.The Astonishing: ShowgirlsHaving witnessed one of the most brazen and thoughtless acts of terrorism in American history this week, we need a stiff drink and a cinematic reprieve.
Given the circumstances, we offer up this brazen and thoughtless schlockfest from American cinema: Showgirls.Not a person reading this article will not have heard of Showgirls in some form.
Fresh off the success of Basic Instinct back in 1995, writer Joe Eszterhas and director Paul Verhoeven reteamed for another erotic drama set in the backstage world of Las Vegas.
Just as Instinct had pushed the boundaries of sex and violence in movies (not to mention those of good taste), Showgirls would go even further, accepting an NC-17 rating for its content.The result didn’t have the same level of success, though it far surpassed the previous Eszterhas/Verhoeven collaboration in terms of infamy.