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Showgirls movie comments

Date: 2008-01-20 11:41:17 User: Calling Showgirls "poorly acted" or "sexist" completely misses the point; it's like accusing Britney Spears of not being a "real musician," as though you've discovered something. Of *course* Showgirls is exploitative and demeaning to women. Almost all Hollywood movies are demeaning to women. Almost all of them are male-written, male-directed male fantasies. But most of them cover this fact with a thin veneer of "empowerment" and "sensitivity," making perfunctory, surface concessions to political correctness. It's hypocritical, dishonest and has horrible long-term effects on the psyches of young impressionable girls (and boys). The brilliance of Showgirls is that it gathers all of the worst Hollywood masculine excess and throws it unapologetically in our faces. The movie is straight-from-the-id, primal, brutish male fantasy. Every woman in the movie is a laughable caricature who advances, if at all, by deceiving other women and becoming a sexual object for men. The "heroine," Nomi, crosses every line, sells every shred of dignity, physically assaults her female competitors, sleeps with her boss (in the most over-the-top sex scene in cinematic history), gets her best friend raped... and at the end of the film, claims that she has gambled and won "herself." This tragi-comic nod to empowerment is a slap to the face of anyone who's been paying attention. Whether Esterhauz and Verhoeven intended it as such, Showgirls is at once a camp classic and a sly satire, an example of everything our culture at once wallows in and disavows. Sure, you can react with righteous indignation, waggle your finger at the movie, and pat yourself on the back for being so enlightened. But maybe you should take a look around, at the billboards, the commercials, the sitcoms, the movies, the music videos, your own prejudices... and think about whether you can't find a better target. Date: 2009-12-26 17:33:51 User: PostFilm When "Showgirls" premiered in theaters in 1995, it was supposed to be a straightforward drama, the struggles of a young woman clawing her way to the top of the chorus line, but as word got around that it was an unmitigated disaster, it quickly gained a reputation as a camp classic. Now, for their special V.I.P. Edition boxed set, not only aren't the folks at MGM ashamed of their product, they openly promote it on the packaging as "An instant camp classic!" (Janet Maslin, New York Times) and "Masterpieces of flashy tackiness!" (San Francisco Chronicle). I suppose the studio figures if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. This new set is most definitely aimed at adults eighteen and up who can accept the film and the package's contents for what they are--sleazy nonsense. One can't help comparing "Showgirls" to the much-earlier "Myra Breckinridge," they're both so dreadful, but at least "Breckinridge" was meant to be bad. I suppose that could mean "Showgirls" might be even campier fun, a movie intending to be serious and turning out so laughably wrong, but even with the campy audio commentary that's included with the new edition, I found the movie virtually unwatchable. Director Paul Verhoeven had done "Robocop," "Total Recall," and "Basic Instinct" before coming to "Showgirls." Writer Joe Eszterhas had done "Jagged Edge," "Basic Instinct," and "Nowhere to Run," and producer Alan Marshall had done "Basic Instinct," "Cliffhanger," and "Angel Heart." There was no reason to believe so prized a team would produce anything so appalling as this. Playing the main character, Nomi Malone, actress Elizabeth Berkley is a pretty young woman with an attractive figure and big lips. But she is not exactly what you would call beautiful nor can she act. So the question is why the filmmakers would have entrusted a relative newcomer with dubious credentials to head up an expensive, high-profile project. Since the Nomi character is herself an airhead, did the producers think a talent of proportionate ability suited the role? When the movie begins, Nomi is hitchhiking to Las Vegas to make her fortune as a showgirl. The silliness begins when she pulls a switchblade on the Elvis impersonator who picks her up. Then, no sooner does she arrive in Vegas than she gets her luggage and money stolen. But, to her good fortune, she instantly strikes up a friendship with a local woman, Molly Abrams (Gina Ravera), who just happens to work in the wardrobe department of a big hotel revue. Nomi takes up residence with Molly in a trailer park and subsequently lands a job as a stripper and lap dancer in a seedy night club. After that, there is nowhere for Nomi to go but up, which is more than can be said for the movie. Robert Davi, who usually plays villains and assorted bottom feeders, appears as Al Torres, the lowlife manager of Nomi's club. Surprisingly, he turns out to be a reasonably sweet guy and almost the only person in the film who isn't a complete jerk. What does that say for a film where Davi plays the only nice guy in it? Anyway, before long Nomi is spotted by big shots from the classy Stardust Hotel and invited to join the chorus line. At the hotel she meets the boss, Zack Carey, played by Kyle MacLachlan, and the show's big star, Cristal Connors, Nomi's soon-to-be rival, played by Gina Gershon. From then on it's all cat fighting and contention for positioning in the show. Nomi finally gets top billing after pushing Cristal down a flight of stairs. This movie must have ruined more careers for more people than any film in history. Writer Joe Eszterhas says in his autobiography, "Hollywood Animal: A Memoir," that he was seduced and corrupted by Tinseltown, and that, in effect, the devil made him do things like "Showgirls" and "Jade." Sorry, Joe; no excuses. The devil would have written far better films. The movie portrays everyone even remotely associated with Las Vegas show business as tawdry, perverted, depraved, or just plain creepy. The movie is, in fact, nothing more than a trashy Las Vegas show itself, loud, tasteless and gaudy, a cheap excuse to parade as much female flesh before the cameras as possible at the least expense to plot or writing. The movie is rated NC-17 for profanity, nudity, simulated sex, violence, and rape. Yet despite its rampant sexual material, it is not a sexy film. Dang, this thing couldn't get anything right.   You have to register to leave a comment...   Back to the Showgirls movie download page