Happy 20th anniversary to Paul Verhoeven’s camp classic Showgirls . The stripper saga about a wannabe Vegas dancer who bumps and grinds her way to becoming showgirl queen is known for its scenery-chewing stars, dolphin-like sex scene, flashy style, and over-the-top dialogue.
The banter between Elizabeth Berkley’s scantily clad ingénue, Gina Gershon’s femme fatale, and a sleazy Kyle MacLachlan is the stuff of trash cinema gold — and, we’ve recently realized, bears a striking resemblance to some of the dumber, self-congratulatory things that Republican Party nomination front-runner Donald Trump has said.
See if you can determine the difference between a so-bad-it’s-good melodrama and a politician who is also willing to claw his way to the top. Highlight or double-click to view the answers.
“My motto is: Always get even. When somebody screws you, screw them back in spades.”
Donald T (Highlight or double-click to view)
“Sometimes it pays to be a little wild.”
Donald T (Highlight or double-click to view)
“Life sucks. Shit happens. I’m a student of t-shirts.”
Showgirls (Highlight or double-click to view)
“It’s not about fair. It’s about power.”
Showgirls (Highlight or double-click to view)
“Everything in life is luck.”
Donald T (Highlight or double-click to view)
“It’s amazing what paint and a surgeon can do.”
Showgirls (Highlight or double-click to view)
“Some of you have probably heard that I’m a prick. I am a prick.”
Showgirls (Highlight or double-click to view)
“As long as you are going to be thinking anyway, think big.”
Donald T (Highlight or double-click to view)
“Women: “You have to treat ’em like shit.”
Donald T (Highlight or double-click to view)
“I know what sells and I know what people want.”
Donald T (Highlight or double-click to view)
“If someone gets in your way, step on ’em. If you’re the only one left standing there, they hire you. That’s about it.”
Showgirls (Highlight or double-click to view)
“Well you gotta gamble if you’re gonna win.”
Showgirls (Highlight or double-click to view)
“I mean everyone’s got AIDS and shit!”
Showgirls (Highlight or double-click to view)
“The more you know, the more you realize how much you don’t know.”
Donald T (Highlight or double-click to view)
“Anyone who thinks my story is anywhere near over is sadly mistaken.”
Donald T (Highlight or double-click to view)
“What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate.”
Donald T (Highlight or double-click to view)
“There’s always someone younger and hungrier coming down the stairs after you.”
Showgirls (Highlight or double-click to view)
“My fingers are long and beautiful, as, it has been well been documented, are various other parts of my body.”
Donald T (Highlight or double-click to view)
“You need more orange!”
Showgirls (Highlight or double-click to view)
“You’re gonna be a big star. Your face is gonna be all up on billboards.”
Showgirls (Highlight or double-click to view)
“We take the cash, we cash the check, we show them what they want to see.”
Showgirls (Highlight or double-click to view)
“Rules are meant to be broken.”
Donald T (Highlight or double-click to view)
“In life you have to rely on the past, and that’s called history.”
Donald T (Highlight or double-click to view)
“If you’re smart — and I was smart — you’ll figure out a job and a man for later on.”
Showgirls (Highlight or double-click to view)
“If you’re interested in ‘balancing’ work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable.”
Donald T (Highlight or double-click to view)