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Review
by
Brian Lindsey
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5
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5 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Conventional
wisdom holds that director Paul Verhoeven (Robocop,
Basic Instinct) really blew it
with his 1995 'erotic' film Showgirls,
a supposed modern take on the classic behind-the-scenes showbiz
drama All About Eve. The first
and last major studio release rated NC-17, it was universally
panned by critics and bombed at the box-office. In reality the
film is nowhere near as bad as I'd been led to believe. As a
tawdry spectacle it's actually rather unique. Imagine one of
those sleazy direct-to-video skin flicks —
the kind run on Cinemax "Friday After Dark" —
only with name actors, an A-List director and cinematographer,
and a $50 Million budget. Viewed from that perspective (and
provided you don't mind looking at naked women), Showgirls
can be a silly, enjoyable piece of fluff.
The film chronicles in episodic fashion the
rise of young Nomi Malone (Elizabeth Berkley) from penniless
stripper to high-dollar Las Vegas showgirl. She arrives in the
gambling mecca by hitchhiking, her only possessions the contents
of a single suitcase and the clothes on her back. (Not that
she'll have much need of the latter as the flick progresses.)
Though uneducated she's tough and streetwise; she refuses to
talk about her past with anyone, even those who genuinely befriend
her. That circle is a particularly small one, as almost
every person she encounters is a liar, a slimeball, or completely
mercenary in their outlook. (Is it supposed to come as some
kind of revelation that a lot of the people involved in the
'adult entertainment' industry are unsavory?) Joe Eszterhas'
script reveals its triteness very early on when the first person
Nomi encounters on the streets of Vegas, costume designer Molly
(Gina Ravera), ends up taking her in and providing a place to
stay — despite their getting into
a fight. (Happens all the time, right?)
Nomi gets a job stripping at Cheetah's, a
nude dance club run by oily Al (Licence
To Kill's Robert Davi). She's very, very good, swiftly becoming
one of Al's top attractions. One night she catches the attention
of casino entertainment director Zack (The
Hidden's Kyle MacLachlan) and his girlfriend Crystal (Gina
Gershon, Bound), star of a big
budget topless revue called Goddess, when the couple
comes to party at the club. Bisexual Crystal is actually more
attracted to Nomi than Zack is; she pays $500 for her to give
him a steamy lap dance while she watches. Seeing her younger
self in Nomi, Crystal arranges for the stripper to get an audition
for a chorus girl slot in the Goddess show. She isn't
playing the Good Samaritan by any means. Crystal's a cold-hearted
bitch who's doing it for fun, toying with Nomi as would a cat
with a cornered mouse. But Nomi's toughness, an internal armor
built up during her mysterious past, serves her well. She can
dish it out with the best (or rather worst) of them. Her defenses
only begin to crack when she discovers that the high rollers
and big-time players of the glitzy stage show world are an even
nastier pack of sharks than those circling backstage in the
strip clubs. Will Nomi sell her soul to become a star?
Would you even care if she weren't getting
naked every five minutes?
Completely vacuous on nearly every level,
Showgirls is nevertheless an absolutely
beautiful-looking piece of junk. Jost Vacano's cinematography
is just gorgeous;
director Verhoeven is no slouch and has a fine eye, lending
kinetic urgency to the rather clichéd story. It's almost
as if Dario Argento had helmed a movie about titty dancers.
Where the movie comes a cropper is the script, which is terrible.
The dialog is fairly atrocious. (It's hard to believe Eszterhas
got $2 Million for writing it. Instead of All
About Eve, think Girl in Gold Boots.)
I could buy into much of the hokum if I could be sure it was
intended as camp, but a rather grim final act —
in which the movie's most decent, unselfish character is brutally
beaten and gang-raped —
seems to belie this. Still, some of the bitchy zingers exchanged
between Nomi and Crystal are rather amusing. They're the highlight
of the film... that, and Ms. Berkley's onstage performances.
Blasted
by critics for her acting, Berkley demonstrates a huge set of
cajones (metaphorically speaking) with this role. I don't think
she's terrible by any means when you consider the script; physically
she's exuberant and totally unabashed. She's also a very good
dancer. Given that her career hasn't really gone anywhere in
the interval, perhaps she should've given up acting and become
a stripper instead.
Ironically the grandiose
Vegas production numbers, in their garish kitschiness, actually
come off sleazier (and more embarrassing) than any of the fully
nude bump 'n' grind antics at the titty bar. I have been
to strip clubs a time or twelve, but never to a 'Lido'-style
show in Las Vegas. Are they really that cheesy?
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from the theatrical trailer and a lightweight 'Making Of' puff
piece that originally ran on Showtime, MGM's Showgirls
disc is a bare bones affair. The insert booklet (featuring 2 pages
of liner notes) doesn't add anything substantive
either, especially regarding the controversy the flick generated
upon release. (Many American newspapers refused to run print ads
for the film.) Audio/visual quality of the non-anamorphic widescreen
print is quite good, however, with eye-popping colors and a powerful
Surround mix.
1/29/03 |
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