Show Me the Girls

By chicago_chris in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 27, 2004 5:45PM

MGM, the studio behind Showgirls, that movie that everyone loves to hate, has finally begun to admit just how God-awful a film they have on their hands. (Wait... what?) After all, this is the film that single-handedly destroyed the careers of Saved By The Bell star Elizabeth Berkley (NOO!!!) and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas (YES!!!), and it also tried (and failed) to bring the controversial NC-17 rating into the mainstream, thus pissing off Roger Ebert forever. Among its many other virtues, Showgirls notably features an extended conversation between strippers on the deliciousness of dog food.

Today, MGM is releasing a new "V.I.P. Edition" DVD to celebrate the film and, at long last, make fun of it. Included with the DVD are shot glasses and playing cards for Showgirls drinking games and a tongue-in-cheek commentary track appropriately called "The Greatest Movie Ever Made" by writer David Schmader, who has seen the film upwards of 100 times. Further pushing the movie toward Rocky Horror-style cultdom, MGM is also hosting a screening of the film at the Landmark Century Theatre tonight at 7:30. Patrons will receive fake cash to throw at the screen and be awarded for particularly good (er... slutty) outfits. The screening is free – just print out your ticket and show up early. And know your hilarious quotes to shout at the screen.

And if all this is STILL not enough Showgirls for you, Harvey Finklestein's Sock Puppet Showgirls, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, is playing through the 31st at the Theatre Building. It even features new characters, new scenes, and new jokes, as if it were somehow possible to improve on the original.