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Posted on 11/11/2025 5:27:55 PM PST by DoodleBob
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Showgirls, Vanessa Berkley’s big-screen debut that has gone from unmitigated disaster to cult camp classic. Paul Verhoeven’s risqué provocation starred Berkley as Nomi Malone, a Vegas transplant with nothing in her pocket but dreams of dancing and a wild drive to achieve them. The NC-17 film was roundly panned upon release, mocked across late night and in the press, and bombed hard at the box office. Berkley, who had emerged years earlier as a teen TV star on Saved by the Bell, faced critics’ unrelenting wrath and was promptly dropped by her team at CAA. She characterizes the period since as “30 years of building blocks” to right now: “In all this time, I’ve been working toward this moment.”
…She was only 21 when Showgirls was released. To prepare her for difficult interviews, publicists kept showing her clippings of reviews blatantly insulting her looks and abilities. “A lot of things went on that wouldn’t be allowed now — someone could not be pummeled to that degree,” she says. “I couldn’t understand how people could be so cruel, but I’m tough. I had to separate out what they said from what I believed to be true.”…
Most of the Showgirls creatives fled the burning building, but Berkley toured 10 countries to meet press requirements — by herself. “It didn’t feel good, but I’m proud that I did that. I’m not a quitter,” she says. “I wanted to speak. I wanted to be heard. I had no other platform.”
…
The world came to accept Showgirls as a damn good, unhinged time…. Berkley wasn’t aware of the magnitude of the shift until 2015, when she attended a 20th anniversary screening at Cinespia in Los Angeles. The reception was ecstatic.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
The star of TV comedy Saved By the Bell was Mark Paul Gosseler. That show was the height of his celebrity.
He was not able to keep anything near that level of fame as he has aged. It happened to Beaver and Shirley Temple.
The Latino actor Mario has had the best luck, mostly as an MC or Host on several different shows.
I saw it once it hit the revival circuit. It wasn’t the worst movie I ever saw but it was no masterpiece either. Somewhat over the top camp is about right. It didn’t charm me enough to ever watch it again though.
Visually. Raquel had it all. Ann was a better all around performer. singing, dancing and acting. Fully trained.
Gosseler did a season of NYPD Blue, he was pretty good.
And “Total Recall” was meant to examine the themes of authoritarianism and colonialism apparently.
The Who did a show in ‘71 or ‘72 at
Killburne IIRC. It was for their movie
“The Kids are Allright.” They used High Grade cameras and audio equipment and I
Believe it was Moons’ last show. It was pulled from someone’s vault and remastered
and it is a Great Show !
I don’t have it in hand but it’s in my collection.
Isle of Wight pales in comparison to it so if you get a chance to check it out...
I’ve seen the Killburne show, it’s good. But I think the songs at Wight were much better: Young Man Blues, Water, I Don’t Even Know Myself.
That was.... nope, can't find a suitable adjective. WOW!
84 years old now, and still active!
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I feel the same.
My sister and her best friend loaded up their cars after college graduation and headed west to LA around the time Showgirls was released. I liked Showgirls as I felt it showed the seedy side of the world that girls can get seduced into. My sister did a few commercials and ended up marrying an incredible man and her best friend started a dance school for children. The two of them had a blast and were never seduced into the bad stuff that was happening. (When I went to visit them, it was definitely ‘country goes to the big town’ and they showed me around. I remember my jaw being dropped so many times!!!!)
I think that so many movies were outright blockbusters and incredible art so anything not measuring up to that standard was considered trash.
Today, movies are just terrible. Not even worth losing an hour and a half of your life over.
I love the scene where she and Tommy go to the Church of Marylin Monroe. My favorite version of “Eyesight To The Blind”, by The Who w/Clapton on vocals and lead guitar. In the scene with the beans, she made it look like she had a real fetish for gooey food. That woman had it all in all the right places. Hubba hubba!
Roger caught pneumonia after that photo shoot. He blamed it on the beans - they were super cold.
That Kilburne 1977 show is considered a disaster by many.
They booked it to get footage for The Kids Are Alright biopic. However, Moon was in terrible shape. The band hadn’t practiced in almost a year. It all shows in the performances. Even Pete makes some comments to that effect during the concert.
While the poor sound quality was blamed for it not being used in TKAA, it’s easy to see why the greatest live band ever chose against its inclusion.
Parenthetically, the later 78 show at Kilburne did produce Baba and WGFA for TKAA, but Moon was still out of practice and years of alcoholism took its toll on his drumming powers.
There are some good moments, and on a bad night the Who still blows away almost every band. That said, (I think) it pales compared to Wight and other earlier concerts like Leeds.
Ping
Everything about it is terrible, which makes it one of the most entertaining films ever. Love this movie!!
That’s my favorite Who album.
Well
Thanks for That...
.
Long Live Rock!
.
I’m still looking for QUADROPHENIA!
.
Can you see the Real Me!
The Quadrophenia movie is great, though.
“We are the Mods!...We are the Mods!...We are We are We are the Mods!”
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