Special Series · The Art of the Tease(rs)
Showgirls (1995)
I have a serious problem with movie trailers lately. It seems like nearly every preview that’s released is about 2:30 minutes long and gives away almost every aspect of the movie, acting more like a CliffsNotes version of the movie being advertised rather than something to entice an audience into coming back and seeing the full product.
In this day and age where all aspects of a movie are fairly well known before an inch of footage is seen, the subtlety of a well-crafted “teaser” trailer is totally gone…and I miss it…I miss it a lot. So I decided to go back to some of the teaser trailers I fondly remember and, in a way, reintroduce them. Whether the actual movie was good or bad is neither here nor there…but pay attention to how each of these teasers work in their own special way to grab the attention of movie-goers.
The One-Sheet
Lobby Card
Plot: Drifter Nomi Malone hitches into Las Vegas with dreams of becoming a dancer. She works her way from a strip club to a spot in a big casino revue, where she crosses paths with the show’s reigning star, Cristal Connors.
Released: September 22, 1995
Directed by: Paul Verhoeven
Starring: Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, Glenn Plummer, Robert Davi, Alan Rachins
Studio: MGM
Box office: $20.4 million domestic, $37.8 million worldwide
Trivia:
- Before release, MGM gave away a free eight-minute preview videotape at video chains like Tower Video, promising “six minutes of the most erotic footage you’ll ever see.” The tape closed with the line “Leave your inhibitions at the door.”
- The stark poster was adapted from Sense, a 1992 black-and-white photograph by Czech photographer Tono Stano that MGM licensed for the campaign.
The Taglines
Leave your inhibitions at the door.
Why It Works
Anyone remember the half-hour show Coming Attractions in the early days of the E! Network? Well, I do and I remember seeing this teaser trailer on it and pretty much knew my life would never be the same. Making some bold promises and ending with a small hint of why the film would be receiving the naughty NC-17 rating, all signs pointed to Showgirls being another adults-only hit for Basic Instinct collaborators director Paul Verhoeven and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas.
Though it’s now a certified camp classic, when it was released in September of 1995 (the same weekend as Seven, by the way), Showgirls was critically reviled with many of the key players raked over the coals. All these years later I especially feel bad for its star Elizabeth Berkley who suffered the worst backlash…but I still find the movie deliriously watchable in all its fully embraced sordid glory. And hey…Gina Gershon’s performance alone is indicative of how to rise above it all.
Written by Joe Botten
Joe Botten is The MN Movie Man, a Twin Cities film critic writing spoiler-free reviews since 2012. He also writes for Loud and Clear Reviews, a Rotten Tomatoes approved site. Find him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
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