Wing Commander Movie Night: Showgirls

Back in February when we watched Battle of Britain, people jokingly complained that they would rather watch Paul Verhoeven's disasterpiece Showgirls instead of another war movie. I responded that if we watched all four remaining war movies in the series then we could take a break from Wing Commander-related movies and watch it. Well, last week's screening of Hell in the Pacific made that a reality so this Friday we'll be watching Showgirls!

Showgirls is a 1995 erotic drama which famously bombed at the box office. But it was also the film Paul Verhoeven's similarly underappreciated Starship Troopers, a favorite of movie club. Could it also be underrated? Or at least maybe ridiculously fun? We'll find out this week! Please note that this is not part of the official movie series; there will be no after action report for Showgirls! But it should be a good time, regardless. You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along. Please note that Showgirls is rated NC-17.

We searched and searched and searched for something that would tie Showgirls to Wing Commander and we came up empty… until we did a comparison search on the IMDb! It turns out there is exactly one shared crew member between the two films. His name is Mark Berrow and he is a violinist with the London Studio Orchestra, an outfit which records the actual scores for a great number of films. As a result he has endless credits… but he played the violin in both Wing Commander and Showgirls! Here's Angel's Story from the Wing Commander movie score; you can hear violin distinctly at around the one minute mark.

Where can I find a copy of the movie for the watch party?

Showgirls is currently available to stream for free on Tubi and PlutoTV. It is not currently available for rent or purchase on any of the standard services. If you would like a physical copy, the movie was released on BluRay in 2011 and remains in print around the world. If you are not able to locate a copy please stop by the Discord and ping a CIC staff member before Friday's showing.

How do we watch the movie together?

It's pretty low tech! Simply join the Wing Commander CIC Discord on Friday and we will be chatting (in text) along with the film in the main channel. Everyone who wants to join in should bring their own copy and we will count down to play them together at 10 PM EST. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to join in the conversation; sharing your thoughts helps make the experience better for everyone!