Synopsis
Released in 1995, Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls was met by critics and audiences with near universal derision. You Don't Nomi traces the film's redemptive journey from notorious flop to cult classic, and maybe even masterpiece.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Jeffrey ConwayHimself
- Joshua GrannellHimself
- April KidwellHerself
- Adam NaymanHimself
- Haley MlotekHerself
- David SchmaderHimself
- Elizabeth BerkleyHerself (archive footage)
- Gina GershonHerself (archive footage)
- Kyle MacLachlanHimself (archive footage)
- Paul VerhoevenHimself (archive footage)
Recommendations
- 83
The Playlist
You Don’t Nomi cuts through the excessive nudity and stylized hyper sex of “Showgirls” to reveal the heart hidden behind the grime, relishing in the entrancing panache that has fascinated and charmed viewers for years. - 80
Film Threat
While far from a straightforward documentary about a widely marginalized film, You Don’t Nomi reminds us that it’s okay to like things with rough edges, that streamlined perfection is overrated and, more than anything, it’s okay to deeply love something that most other people loathe. - 75
Movie Nation
You Don’t Nomi makes some points, misses the mark attempting to make others, but keeps us entertained as it encourages film buffs to view “Showgirls” within the framework of a filmmaker’s career, to accept that notion that “An artist is someone pounds the same nail, over and over again.” - 75
The Film Stage
You Don’t Nomi is another essential chapter in the Showgirls story–and completes the cultural reappreciation the film deserves. How can one not appreciate a film so devoted to “doggy chow,” chips, and ice cubes? - 75
The A.V. Club
It may not be as bizarrely entertaining as the film it obsesses over, but You Don’t Nomi is a captivating document of how a piece of art—especially one this deeply, powerfully weird—can take on a life wholly beyond its original intentions. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
McHale has been shrewd in declining to offer a definitive verdict on the movie, instead giving equal time to both negative and positive responses. - 70
Rolling Stone
In the context this documentary provides for the cult classic, it makes you want to see "Showgirls" again regardless of whether you belong to that cult or not. - 70
The New York Times
If not revelatory, You Don’t Nomi is likely to persuade viewers that “Showgirls” is more than a “bare-butted bore,” as Janet Maslin wrote in The New York Times 25 years ago.
