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SHOWGIRLS
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The 1995 film Showgirls has been deemed everything from camp classic to sleazy trash over the years, earning it a reputation that causes giggles when the title of the film is even mentioned. I needed to put some distance between myself and the film before writing an objective review and after my recent fourth viewing of the film, I think I'm ready to give it a shot.
For those who've been living under a rock since 1995, Showgirls stars former Saved by the Bell co-star Elizabeth Berkley as Nomi Malone, a woman with a past (this is made clear from the opening frames), who hitchhikes to Las Vegas determined to become a Las Vegas showgirl, but learns that there's a price to fame and it can be expensive as well as trying on the soul.
This film produces unintentional laughs from the beginning...the film is already showing its age depicting our central character hitchhiking to Las Vegas. I didn't realize it until I actually began watching it, but who hitchhikes anymore? It's not only dangerous but it's such an obvious movie "tell"...anyone who is hitchhiking at the beginning of a movie is running from something or someone or has a huge secret that they are trying to distance themselves from. Unfortunately, we have to wait a LONG time to find out exactly what Nomi is running from.
If the truth be told, the majority of the unintentional giggles this movie produces come from the character of Nomi bristling every time someone calls her a whore when that is exactly what she is. Whether she's confronting her boss at the strip club (Rovert Davi), the bitchy bisexual star of the stage show gets hired for (Gina Gershon), or the entertainment director for the show (Kyle MacLachlan), this girl knows exactly what kind of vibes she's giving at all times and knows when to use them to her advantage. This girl is no fool and every time she gets upset about someone calling her a whore, I just bust out laughing...still.
Director Paul Verhoeven directs the film with a sledgehammer approach in regards to what is considered erotic onscreen. There are countless moments in this film that were intended to arouse and titillate and just produce laughs. The most erotic moment in the whole movie is the first and last kiss between Berkley and Gershon...Verhoueven really made us wait for this kiss and we knew it was going to happen at some point, and it was worth the wait.
The performances range from uneven to annoying...Berkley really needed to be reined in here, but Gershon was a lot of fun and Kyle MacLachlan just seemed like he walked off the set of another movie, an odd casting choice IMO and Alan Rachins in a bad toupe as the director of the stage show was just silly, but the performances were such a minor part of the problem with this movie...I guess it's Joe Eszterhas' silly screenplay, which adopts just about every show business cliche you can think of, which is the true culprit here. I guess as a matter of morbid fascination, this film might be worth a look or if you just like laughing at stuff that's not supposed to be funny...step right up.
The 1995 film Showgirls has been deemed everything from camp classic to sleazy trash over the years, earning it a reputation that causes giggles when the title of the film is even mentioned. I needed to put some distance between myself and the film before writing an objective review and after my recent fourth viewing of the film, I think I'm ready to give it a shot.
For those who've been living under a rock since 1995, Showgirls stars former Saved by the Bell co-star Elizabeth Berkley as Nomi Malone, a woman with a past (this is made clear from the opening frames), who hitchhikes to Las Vegas determined to become a Las Vegas showgirl, but learns that there's a price to fame and it can be expensive as well as trying on the soul.
This film produces unintentional laughs from the beginning...the film is already showing its age depicting our central character hitchhiking to Las Vegas. I didn't realize it until I actually began watching it, but who hitchhikes anymore? It's not only dangerous but it's such an obvious movie "tell"...anyone who is hitchhiking at the beginning of a movie is running from something or someone or has a huge secret that they are trying to distance themselves from. Unfortunately, we have to wait a LONG time to find out exactly what Nomi is running from.
If the truth be told, the majority of the unintentional giggles this movie produces come from the character of Nomi bristling every time someone calls her a whore when that is exactly what she is. Whether she's confronting her boss at the strip club (Rovert Davi), the bitchy bisexual star of the stage show gets hired for (Gina Gershon), or the entertainment director for the show (Kyle MacLachlan), this girl knows exactly what kind of vibes she's giving at all times and knows when to use them to her advantage. This girl is no fool and every time she gets upset about someone calling her a whore, I just bust out laughing...still.
Director Paul Verhoeven directs the film with a sledgehammer approach in regards to what is considered erotic onscreen. There are countless moments in this film that were intended to arouse and titillate and just produce laughs. The most erotic moment in the whole movie is the first and last kiss between Berkley and Gershon...Verhoueven really made us wait for this kiss and we knew it was going to happen at some point, and it was worth the wait.
The performances range from uneven to annoying...Berkley really needed to be reined in here, but Gershon was a lot of fun and Kyle MacLachlan just seemed like he walked off the set of another movie, an odd casting choice IMO and Alan Rachins in a bad toupe as the director of the stage show was just silly, but the performances were such a minor part of the problem with this movie...I guess it's Joe Eszterhas' silly screenplay, which adopts just about every show business cliche you can think of, which is the true culprit here. I guess as a matter of morbid fascination, this film might be worth a look or if you just like laughing at stuff that's not supposed to be funny...step right up.