''Without You I'm Nothing'' is a 1990 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by John Boskovich and starring and written by comedian and singer

Sandra Bernhard Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy, where she often critiqued celebrity culture and political figures. Bernhard is also well kn ...

, based on material from her award-winning one-woman show of the same name, which was produced by Terry Danuser. The film was shot on location in August 1989 at The Coconut Grove in the Ambassador Hotel in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Karole Armitage Karole Armitage (born March 3, 1954) is an American dancer and choreographer currently based in New York City. She is artistic director of Armitage Gone! Dance, a contemporary dance company that performs several times annually in New York City as ...

was the choreographer. The film recreates moments from the stage show, often with Bernhard dressed in zany costumes reminiscent of the character she is embodying without actually "becoming" that character. Interspersed are faux-interview bits with actress Lu Leonard as Bernhard's manager and actor

Steve Antin Steven Antin (born April 19, 1958) is an American actor, stunt performer, screenwriter, producer, and director. Early life Antin was born in Queens, New York City, the son of British Jews, British Jewish immigrants. He is the brother of fello ...

, with whom she would later co-star in the film ''

Inside Monkey Zetterland ''Inside Monkey Zetterland'' is a 1992 independent film, independent Comedy film, comedy film directed by Jefery Levy and written by Steve Antin. The film follows Monkey Zetterland, a former child actor turned aspiring screenwriter and the goings- ...

''. A Madonna impersonator Denise Bella Vlasis played a direct reference to Sandra's friendship with Madonna as character Shoshanna. The film is notorious for a finale in which Bernhard wears nothing but

pasties Pasties (singular pasty or pastie) are patches that cover a person's nipples and areolae, typically self-adhesive or affixed with adhesive. They are usually worn in pairs. They originated as part of burlesque shows, allowing dancers to perform ...

and an extremely skimpy

G-string A G-string is a garment consisting of a narrow piece of material that barely covers the genitals, a string-like piece that passes between the buttocks, and a very thin waistband around the hips. There are designs for both women and men. Men's G- ...

(in an American Flag print) and proceeds to go-go dance to the song "

Little Red Corvette "Little Red Corvette" is a song by American recording artist Prince. The song combines a Linn LM-1 beat and slow synth buildup with a rock chorus, over which Prince, using several automobile metaphors, recalls a one-night stand with a beautiful pr ...

" by

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

. It was not a commercial success, but it was highly praised by critics for its caustic commentary on American values and

celebrity culture Celebrity culture is a high-volume exposure to celebrities' personal lives on a global scale. It is inherently tied to consumer interests where celebrities transform their fame to become product brands. Whereas a culture can usually be physically ...

. In Bernhard's 2006

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

show ''

Everything Bad & Beautiful ''Everything Bad & Beautiful'' is the title of a live stage show and album performed/recorded by singer/comedian/actress Sandra Bernhard. The show ran in 2006 in New York City at the Daryl Roth Theatre. In the performance Bernhard does what she is ...

'', she concludes by showing the final footage from this film: Cynthia Bailey writing "Fuck Sandra Bernhard" on a tablecloth in lipstick.

Cast

as Herself *

John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used in the British, Canadian, and American legal systems, when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law ...

as Himself *

as Himself * Lu Leonard as Ingrid Horn, Sandra's Manager *

Ken Foree Ken Foree (born February 29, 1948) is an American actor, best known as the protagonist Peter from the horror film '' Dawn of the Dead'' (1978) and as Roger Rockmore on the Nickelodeon television sitcom '' Kenan & Kel'' (1996–2000). Early life ...

as Emcee * Cynthia Bailey as Roxanne * Paul Michael Thorpe as Apollo (credited as Paul Thorpe) * Denise Vlasis as Shoshanna *

Djimon Hounsou Djimon Gaston Hounsou ( ; ; born April 24, 1964) is a Beninese-American actor. He began his career appearing in music videos and made his film debut in '' Without You I'm Nothing'' (1990). He then earned widespread recognition for his role as C ...

as Ex-Boyfriend (credited as Djimon Hounson) * Stephanie Albers as Hippie Girl *

Robin Antin Robin Antin is an American dancer and choreographer. In 1995, she founded the modern burlesque troupe the Pussycat Dolls. By 2005, she diversified into various media including a pop recording group with international hits, a Las Vegas nightclub ...

as Hippie Girl * Annie Livingstone as Hippie Girl

Home media

''Without You I'm Nothing'' was released on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

video cassette on December 19, 1990 and became a

cult classic A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...

, prompting it to be re-released (again on VHS) in 2000 as part of the "MGM Avant-Garde Cinema" collection. It was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on August 23, 2005.

External links

* * 1990 films 1990s satirical films 1990s musical comedy films American satirical films American musical comedy films American films based on plays 1990 comedy films Films shot in Los Angeles 1990s English-language films 1990s American films English-language musical comedy films 1990 musical films {{musical-comedy-film-stub