Another stripper movie! Elizabeth
Berkley plays Nomi Malone, who hitchhikes to Las Vegas in hopes
of becoming a big-time dancer. She loses all her belongings and
goes to work at a nudie bar called Cheetah's, where crater-faced
Robert Davi yells, "You'd better give me a blowjob!"
at the girls. Her pal Molly does costumes for a big Vegas show
and invites Nomi to hang out backstage, where she meets Gina Gershon,
bitch-goddess of the dance world. Gina takes boyfriend Kyle MacLachlan
to Cheetah's and buys him a lap dance from Nomi. Afterwards, Gina
gets Nomi an audition for the big show, and--surprise!--Nomi gets
the job. Things meander along from there, with talk of eating
dog food, a wigged-out sex scene and even a little kick-boxing.
Showgirls is not as deliriously bad as I'd been led to
believe--but even so, I have to recommend it. It's like watching
that "When Animals Bite People" show that was on FOX
a while back: It's gruesome, but its evil power is so all-consuming
that you can't turn away. Elizabeth Berkley really got a bum rap
for this flick--her acting is as good as anyone else involved,
and she's most certainly easy on the eyes. However, the entire
world blamed her for this movie being the loser it is, instead
of pointing the finger at the real culprits--director
Paul Verhoeven and writer Joe Eszterhas. What the hell were these
guys thinking? Is this thing supposed to be uplifting,
somehow? I'm just baffled. (MGM/UA Home Video, 1995)
--Scott Phillips
Capsule Reviews
Showgirls 
Other Films by Paul Verhoeven
Starship Troopers 
Film Vault Suggested Links
The Scarlet Letter 
Exotica 
Boogie Nights 
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