Showgirls Sequel

Actress Rena Riffel writes and stars in Showgirls 2: Penny's From Heaven.

By Neil Cohen

Rena Riffel

Showgirls Gone Wild!

Actress Rena Riffel creates the Showgirls sequel fans have been waiting for

If you want something done right, do it yourself. Just ask actress Rena Riffel, who costarred in the 1995 gay favorite Showgirls, as well as Demi Moore's Striptease and David Lynch's Mulholland Drive.

In Showgirls, Riffel played Penny, Nomi Malone's (Elizabeth Berkley) fellow dancer at The Cheetah, who ends up with Nomi's pseudo-boyfriend James (Glenn Plummer).

Riffel said that director Paul Verhoeven once mentioned that her character Penny could star in a sequel where she goes to Hollywood, and the thought stayed with Riffel for years. Seeing how popular Showgirls became after an inauspicious debut, Riffel decided to produce the film herself.

Riffel said she approached Verhoeven with her script, but "he doesn't like to do sequels or similar films. But he gave me his blessing, so I just kept moving forward with it."

Riffel wrote a loving homage/send-up of the original that includes tons of memorable quotes that will tickle Showgirls fans. Although Riffel will not be in attendance, the movie will have its Arizona premiere Dec. 9 at the Royale Theatre in Mesa.

Showgirls 2: What Ever Happened to Penny Baby Poster "I want the audience to be in that (Showgirls) world again," Riffle said. "So I included what I thought were the most loved parts and lines from Showgirls, but we say them in a different way. It speaks in a secret Showgirls language."

In Penny's From Heaven, Riffel's Penny leaves Las Vegas in hopes of scoring a part on a low budget Hollywood dance program. Along the way, she runs into a crazed Marilyn Monroe impersonator and lands in a gothic love triangle out of Sunset Boulevard.

Showgirls fans will be happy to see Glenn Plummer return as Penny's Alvin Ailey-trained boyfriend, as well as other Showgirls alumni, like Greg Travis and Dewey Weber.

"Valley of the Dolls was probably my biggest influence," Riffel said. "I've watched it a million times. I watched a lot of old movies from the '40s and '50s because I wanted it to have that melodramatic feel."

When the movie Black Swan opened last year to so much acclaim, Riffel said was pleased, since her film already contained a similar ballet-based rivalry between Penny and the aging prima ballerina Katya.

Riffel said she has mixed feelings about why the original Showgirls is a cult favorite. "Part of me thinks it was a happy accident, like a beautiful train wreck that happened, but then another part of me thinks that Paul Verhoeven definitely veered it in a direction to make it more exciting. I think that he got the film he wanted," she said. -E

VITAL STATISTICS

Showgirls 2: Penny's From Heaven
Dec. 9
Royale Theater
108 W. Main St., Mesa
www.theroyaleaz.com