Showgirls V.I.P. Edition (DVD)

Oh boy, oh boy, where to start with what may be the best special edition DVD ever, for the appropriate audience of course, and not for the quality of the film involved by any means.

The Showgirls V.I.P. Edition DVD is so equipped to party that ID will be checked at the door, and if you aren't careful so will your clothes. Packed with goodies for the curious audience this is a DVD that should not be "played" alone as you will soon find out there is more to Showgirls than just a crappy film.

Just to make a quick comparison, if all special edition DVDs were like this one the Lord of the Rings extended editions would come with Gandalf costumes and swords and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Special Edition would have come with a working chainsaw ready to massacre. I say this because, if used properly, the Showgirls V.I.P. Edition will have you naked before you get an hour into the film, but let's slow down because a good review is all about the tease, right?

Showgirls was supposed to be Paul Verhoeven's tribute to the seductive and glamorous world of Las Vegas show dancing and ultimately turned into the laughing stock of the industry for several years, and Verhoeven has not even come close to making a comeback unless you count Starship Troopers as a success.

Not only did it show Verhoeven to the back door it let Elizabeth Berkley out just as she was trying to make her way in through the front, apparently no one told Berkley that showing every ounce of skin in your first major film role does not guarantee success, or even a following, as she has since found herself in a variety of films no one has heard of except for the appropriate hooker role she played in Any Given Sunday as she gave Al Pacino a reason to live and once again found the opportunity to show moviegoers her breasts.

The one thing that makes this special box set worth it is that it takes the movie as seriously as the rest of us did, not at all. From the audio commentary to the storyboard vs. scene segments it is all one big joke that asks you to enjoy the ride making what would be an insufferable two hours into a great time.

Before I delve into the bag of tricks this set comes with let me first say the audio commentary is great. David Schmader, that's right, not the director or the producer, but a guy who has made it a personal goal of his to comment on this film and let everyone know that it is okay to enjoy something once you realize how ridiculous it is. He guides you through the whole film and if you have to watch it there is no better way, since that is the way I watched it, before even attempting to watch it without.

You will be greeted with such comments regarding the film as an "Incredible density of failure," or on Berkley's acting, "Nomi has two emotions: staring and kicking." He has a ton of little anecdotes that really add to the viewing pleasure and it is nice to see that MGM isn't afraid to put something like this on a movie that deserves it.

Speaking of taking the movie seriously there is also a trivia track that works just like VH-1's "Pop-up Video" (is that even still around?), and the very first bit of trivia you get before you see a single actor is "Winner: 2000 Razzie Award, Worst Movie of the Decade." At that moment I classified this DVD as a classic, and if you aren't familiar with the Razzie Awards get familiar here.

Another feature is the Showgirls diary, which shows some script sketches by Paul Verhoeven along with the actual script and the shooting of the scene they are associated with. This is pretty much worthless, but it is amazing to see that Verhoeven felt it was necessary to storyboard lap dances and strip sequences, are you kidding me?

What may be of interest to you guys that have adventuresome girlfriends, and that 50% of you whose marriages haven't quite cooled down or ended in divorce yet is the ten point tutorial on how to give a lap dance by the girls of Scores, and if you don't know what Scores is then you haven't been listening to enough Howard Stern. But beware there is a bit of a disclaimer at the end of the tutorial as one of the teachers says, "Believe me ladies, if you learn how to do a good lap dance anything you want can come true." Hmmmmm.... guard your wallets!

But enough of this DVD crap what about the goodies, like pin the pasties on the showgirl and drinking games involving Showgirls cards and shot glasses, and blindfolds?

Well it is all here, and if you plan on having this party make sure you are familiar with the friends you are having it with, because if you aren't you will be by the end no matter who wins or loses.

Now I don't want to write forever and you don't want to read forever so let me just tell you that the games that are involved with this DVD are more fun than you could imagine and while they suggest NONALCHOHOLIC beverages be used with them, we know what they mean, it is just that they don't want to be sued when you end up naked and drunk in the gutter.

Just as an example if you want to play the "Sip or Strip" game participants are given a certain group of cards and based on that card you will have to either sip a drink or strip some clothes whenever someone falls down in the film, says "dance", swings around a pole, says "darlin'" and so on. Trust me if you have seen the film there won't be a sober eye, or a closed one depending on if you are sipping or stripping, and no one says you can't bend the rules just a little, it'll be our little secret.

I can honestly tell you that this is well worth the money, considering you aren't a prude and offended by just about everything you see, then again if that was you why are you reading a review about an NC-17 rated film that has more T and A than a late night on Cinemax.

The main thing to remember is that you don't have to like the film to love this box set and for $27.99 at Amazon, how can you not buy it? It's at least a lot less embarrassing than those late night runs to XXX Video you have been making.