Elizabeth Berkley Had No Idea How Bad ‘Showgirls’ Was Until This Happened
In 1995, Elizabeth Berkley left behind the steady paycheck of Saturday morning staple Saved by the Bell to star in Paul Verhoeven‘s provocative drama Showgirls. The NC-17 film was a dramatic departure from her wholesome teen sitcom image, casting her as Nomi Malone, a fiercely ambitious dancer clawing her way through the glittering but cutthroat world of Las Vegas showgirls.
Seeing the film as an arthouse project with an A-list director at the helm, Berkley considered it the chance of a lifetime. Unfortunately, Showgirls was savaged by critics upon release, panned for its campy dialogue and over-the-top performances, and bombed at the box office. The backlash all but derailed her career, turning what was meant to be her breakout moment into a cautionary tale.
But since then, the film has been embraced by fans, the LGBTQ+ community, and arthouse cinephiles, who celebrate its camp sensibility, biting satire, and unapologetic excess.
United Artists/courtesy Everett Collection
Showgirls has since been reappraised as a cult classic, with midnight screenings, academic essays, and even stage parodies highlighting its lasting impact on pop culture.
Now celebrated for her participation in the film, Berkley speaks often about the pic, as more and more lore is uncovered about the cult favorite. Recently, she went on Howard Stern and revealed that she had no idea that the film was bad until the day before it opened.
While on The Howard Stern Show, Berkley was asked by Robin Quivers, “Did it look [like] it was going to be that bad in the midst of filming?”
“While you were shooting, did you think it was good?,” asked Stern.
“This is the weirdest thing: there was no indication until literally, the day before,” clarified Berkley. “I’m telling you. I went to the Cannes Film Festival!”
“What about dailies? People were going, ‘Hey, this is great!,” asked Stern.
“They were so inspired and loving it. The actual process of making the film was amazing, I mean, there was this whole kind of thing that was developing, as far as the heat on the movie. And there was just no indication until I think it was like, it was the day before it was released. And then the reviews came out, and I went, ‘Oh.'”
At this point in the interview, the radio team played a bomb dropping sound effect, which made Berkley laugh.
“Yeah. That’s the best way I can describe what I went through,” recalled Berkley.
“You can’t be good in a bad movie!,” exclaimed Stern.
“Look, you have to take risks, and with that comes sometimes a beating,” remarked Berkley.
Stern, however, makes a great point: “The bottom line: Everyone knows the name Elizabeth Berkley now.”
Her comments are supported by a 1995 interview with Spin magazine conducted by a journalist who, when reading the article, one can only assume, presumably despises Saved by the Bell, Showgirls, and possibly actresses as a whole. In the piece, Berkley stated that she had her parents read the script and that it came across as an art film. “I live with my parents, so they know what’s going on. My mother read the script. They knew it would be something artistic and beautiful. It isn’t just, ‘Oh, another breast scene.'”
At the 30th anniversary screening of the film at Hollywood Forever Cemetery from Cinespia, Berkley spoke to a crowd of thousands to share her gratitude for “rescuing” the movies. “You guys saw me before anyone else saw me,” said the actress. “You believed in me before anybody. And you believed in this film and found yourself in Nomi.”
Remind