DVD Review - You Don't Nomi (2019)

It was Trash. It was Art. It was SHOWGIRLS.

The 2019 acclaimed documentary You Don’t Nomi (Not Rated; 92 minutes) landed on DVD and Blu-ray today from RLJE Film (part of the AMC Networks). Written and directed by Jeffery McHale, the documentary tells the tale about one of the biggest flops in Hollywood history - Showgirls.

Directed by legendary Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas, Showgirls should have been a big hit in the Fall of 1995, but thanks to an NC-17 rating and poor reviews, the film flopped at the box office. The movie fared better on home video, bringing in over $100 million. Though it’s on the “worst films” list in history, it has become a cult classic.

The documentary isn’t about the making of the film. Instead, the director mostly focuses on how the movie dug itself out of being one of the biggest flops to becoming a cult adoration.

Final Thoughts

I was in Junior High when Showgirls arrived in theatres in 1995 and having grown up watching Saved By the Bell, I, along with every male classmate, wanted to see Elizabeth Berkley (or otherwise known as Jessie Spano) strip down to her birthday suit. An NC-17 movie would never play around my insignificant Midwest town, so I had to wait to view Showgirls when it premiered on Showtime. Luckily, I had a television in my bedroom because it would have been embarrassing to watch it with my parents. Hell, it was embarrassing to watch it by myself.

Sleazy is the only word to describe Showgirls. The film studio, MGM, promoted it as an erotic-drama, but there's nothing sexy about it. You would know what I'm talking about if you saw the movie.

You Don’t Nomi is a well-made and intriguing documentary. It features critical analysis from critics and fans and reveals the hypocrisy of Hollywood. While I’m not a big fan of Showgirls by any means, after watching the documentary, I now want to re-watch the film with a fresh perspective. If you’re a diehard Showgirls fan, then I recommend seeing You Don’t Nomi.