Director Watch Podcast Ep. 108 – ‘Showgirls’ (Paul Verhoeven, 1995)

Ryan McQuade July 17, 2025

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 108 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by AwardsWatch Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson discuss the latest film in their Paul Verhoeven series, Showgirls (1995).

Following the massive cultural, commercial success of Basic Instinct, Verhoeven and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas turned their eye to the world of professional dancing as a young, ambitious girl, with a mysterious past, sets her sights on becoming a star as the main showgirl in over-the-top production set on the Las Vegas strip. The film was set up with massive expectations and the largest budget ever for an NC-17 film ($45m), Showgirls was hailed as one of the worst films of the 1990s, a box office bomb, and ruined star Elizabeth Berkley chances at becoming a star on the big screen like she was on television. But the film became a cult classic, and has now been fully reevaluated as a “masterpiece” of excess and the dangers women face within the entertainment industry; Verhoeven’s The Red Shoes. Ryan, Jay, and Erik breakdown their relationship with the film, their favorite lines within the movie, the definition of “camp,” Berkley’s rocky relationship with the film, how horrifying the sex is within the film, the legendary performance given by Gina Gershon, which characters they relate to, and which modern day pop-star Jay says has had a better 21^st century success on the Billboard Charts than Madonna; a move that might see the end of the co-host as we know. Listen now to find out who mentions.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h45m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Paul Verhoeven with a review of his film, Starship Troopers. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

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Ryan McQuade

Ryan McQuade is the AwardsWatch Executive Editor and a film-obsessed writer in San Antonio, Texas. Raised on musicals, westerns, and James Bond, his taste in cinema is extremely versatile. He’s extremely fond of independent releases and director’s passion projects. Engrossed with all things Oscars, he hosts the AwardsWatch Podcast. He also is co-host of the Director Watch podcast. When he’s not watching movies, he’s rooting on all his favorite sports teams, including his beloved Texas Longhorns. You can follow him on Twitter at @ryanmcquade77.