Showgirls
(1995)
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Glitz, glamour and blind, naked ambition collide in this tale of a young exotic dancer clawing her way to stardom in glitter city, Las Vegas. Nomi Malone has left her name and her past behind to become a big splash in the all-stops-out dance extravaganzas of the Vegas stage. Along the way, she's forced to resume her lap-dancing past, but an empathetic (and less naive) costume designer takes her in and gives her the chance which becomes her cannon-shot to the top. Severe mood swings, back-stabbing left right and center, sequins, lesbianism and some of the most wonderfully unbelievable dialogue ever penned make SHOWGIRLS an instant Midnight Movie classic. |
According to director Paul Verhoeven, his controversial and much-reviled showbiz exposé is an incisive look at sleazy Las Vegas life. To almost everyone else, it is an instant kitsch classic charting the rise of small-town girl Elizabeth Berkley from tawdry lap dancer to famed topless revue headliner. Practically nothing works in this tacky sashay through Valley of the Dolls clichés and unerotic burlesque. Apart from head showgirl Gina Gershon, everyone is miscast and the end result is nothing more than a posh sexploitation flick with tarnished good intentions. Sexist, offensive and pathetic? Or a gritty, truthful wake-up call? You decide if you can stop giggling for long enough!