Controversial Director Paul Verhoeven Gets the Spotlight in “You Don’t Nomi”

Widely mocked at the time – though it remains the widest released and highest-grossing NC-17 movie ever – Showgirls has become a cult classic, with midnight showings around the world (or at least when theaters were still open). I still think it's a bad movie, but I wouldn't take anything away from the people who appreciate its camp factor and frequent nudity.

The secondary popularity for the film has gotten so big it's spawned its own documentary. A recent RLJE Films acquisition, You Don't Nomi explores the film's rocky road from laughingstock to sacred object. The film features interviews with Toronto film critic Adam Nayman. He's one of the best in the business and literally wrote the book in its defense (as well as tributes to Ben Wheatley, Paul Thomas Anderson and the Coen Brothers).

You Don't Nomi also takes a look at the career of director Paul Verhoeven, the Dutch director of explicit films like Turkish Delight and Spetters, as well as the trashy-but-popular Total Recall and Basic Instinct, and the brilliant sci-fi satire of RoboCop and Starship Troopers. He also scored Isabelle Huppert her first Oscar nomination with the hot-button dark comedy Elle.

If they're open by then, You Don't Nomi hits select theaters on June 5. Regardless, it will be available for digital rental and purchase on Tuesday, June 9.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.