* spoilers, nothing but spoilers
In her role of Nomi (an unlikely and symbolically heavy-handed name), Elizabeth Berkeley comes off as someone with an impulse control problem and the attention span of a puppy. She spends most of the movie with a vacant expression on her face that gives way to unprovoked screaming fits. Her character starts the film as a jerk who treats people badly and end the film as a jerk who treats people badly. The plot, in fact, has no effect on her personality. This is amazing, cuz the plot is such a lame moralistic fable to begin with. Innocent girl (from NY City?) makes it to the big city, works her way up and finally succeeds by sinking to the depths of the people around her. This makes her want to leave, cuz, you know, she's become everything she's ever hated or something. The problem with this story is that Nomi STARTS OUT as an awful jerk who would push a colleague down some stairs to get ahead - she just hasn't thought of it yet. So the story, which anyone over the age of four has seen before, is pointless.
The dialogue is atrocious - it's Penthouse Letters stuff. It's how horny old men think young women talk when they're in the bathroom. That said, there's a lot dialogue in this movie that is unforgettable in the same way that Battlefield Earth makes variations on `I have leverage' unforgettable.
Kyle MacLachlan spends the whole movie with a stupid stoner smirk plastered on his face.
The sex ohmygod the sex. The simulated sex scenes in this movie are comic gold. At least twice that I remember Nomi mounts the MacLachlan character and does this move on him that looks kinda like a fish out of water. Her spine it sorta whips up and down so that her torso is flipping in mid air. The hilarious part is that one of the sex scenes is in a hot tub and when Nomi does her thing, her body slaps and plops the water. Besides being unerotic, the sex scenes go on forever.
I have never, ever, before in my life, wanted women in movies to put some clothes on. I admit it - I'm disgusting. When the sex scene got started in Muholland Dr., the thought going through my mind was `THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE EVER!' But Showgirls takes the juvenile male urge to stare at boobies and pummels it. About half way through the film all I could think about the all those breasts is that support is a matter of comfort. It just seemed merciless to depict a world where there are apparently so few bras.
Anyway, that's the funny stuff. Now for the awfulness. Black people are nurturing. There are two characters for Nomi to crap on, despite their best efforts to help her out. Glenn Plummer plays a dancer who wants to help Nomi perfect her absolutely jaw-dropping dancing talent and Gina Rivera plays a sweet person who takes Nomi in when she arrives in Vegas. When Rivera's character, Molly, first meets Nomi, Nomi is attacking Molly's car cuz her luggage was stolen and the car was nearby when she needed to hit something. Instead of beating Nomi senseless, Molly buys her some food, offers to be her roommate and help finding a job. And it goes on like that. Nomi is basically infantalized during scenes with Molly. This is true of Glenn Plummer's character as well, who spends most of his screen time chastising Nomi like a parent about wasting her talent. Of course, in the dark world of Showgirls, nice people can't exist. Plummer's character turns out to be a guy who says that every girl is a dancer of extraordinary talent to sleep with them (but with Nomi, he really means it) and after mothering Nomi for half the movie, Molly gets gang raped cuz I dunno, victims are always asking for jerks to be nice to them and that's what she gets or something equally insightful.
Everyone in the film keeps talking about how Nomi is a phenomenal dancer. I didn't see anything to justify this. Actually, they labored the point so much that it invites scrutiny that her dancing can't live up to. It's kinda cruel really. What if someone made a movie with Steve Buscemi where everyone marvels at how handsome he is? I don't think there's anything wrong with his appearance, but if you spent two hours being asked to look at him and admire his features...
Anyway, this movie is bad in so many ways, but it's memorable. It's like watching Plan 9 for the laughs, but different. It played recently at the Midnight Mass in SF - a venue that plays camp classics like early John Waters and the Mommy Dearest. Verhoeven and Eszthehas set out to make a naughty, dark movie. Instead they made a crude, incompetent and disgusting film. Showgirls is probably exactly the film they intended to make and that's why it's funny.
Gina Gershon didn't stink.
In her role of Nomi (an unlikely and symbolically heavy-handed name), Elizabeth Berkeley comes off as someone with an impulse control problem and the attention span of a puppy. She spends most of the movie with a vacant expression on her face that gives way to unprovoked screaming fits. Her character starts the film as a jerk who treats people badly and end the film as a jerk who treats people badly. The plot, in fact, has no effect on her personality. This is amazing, cuz the plot is such a lame moralistic fable to begin with. Innocent girl (from NY City?) makes it to the big city, works her way up and finally succeeds by sinking to the depths of the people around her. This makes her want to leave, cuz, you know, she's become everything she's ever hated or something. The problem with this story is that Nomi STARTS OUT as an awful jerk who would push a colleague down some stairs to get ahead - she just hasn't thought of it yet. So the story, which anyone over the age of four has seen before, is pointless.
The dialogue is atrocious - it's Penthouse Letters stuff. It's how horny old men think young women talk when they're in the bathroom. That said, there's a lot dialogue in this movie that is unforgettable in the same way that Battlefield Earth makes variations on `I have leverage' unforgettable.
Kyle MacLachlan spends the whole movie with a stupid stoner smirk plastered on his face.
The sex ohmygod the sex. The simulated sex scenes in this movie are comic gold. At least twice that I remember Nomi mounts the MacLachlan character and does this move on him that looks kinda like a fish out of water. Her spine it sorta whips up and down so that her torso is flipping in mid air. The hilarious part is that one of the sex scenes is in a hot tub and when Nomi does her thing, her body slaps and plops the water. Besides being unerotic, the sex scenes go on forever.
I have never, ever, before in my life, wanted women in movies to put some clothes on. I admit it - I'm disgusting. When the sex scene got started in Muholland Dr., the thought going through my mind was `THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE EVER!' But Showgirls takes the juvenile male urge to stare at boobies and pummels it. About half way through the film all I could think about the all those breasts is that support is a matter of comfort. It just seemed merciless to depict a world where there are apparently so few bras.
Anyway, that's the funny stuff. Now for the awfulness. Black people are nurturing. There are two characters for Nomi to crap on, despite their best efforts to help her out. Glenn Plummer plays a dancer who wants to help Nomi perfect her absolutely jaw-dropping dancing talent and Gina Rivera plays a sweet person who takes Nomi in when she arrives in Vegas. When Rivera's character, Molly, first meets Nomi, Nomi is attacking Molly's car cuz her luggage was stolen and the car was nearby when she needed to hit something. Instead of beating Nomi senseless, Molly buys her some food, offers to be her roommate and help finding a job. And it goes on like that. Nomi is basically infantalized during scenes with Molly. This is true of Glenn Plummer's character as well, who spends most of his screen time chastising Nomi like a parent about wasting her talent. Of course, in the dark world of Showgirls, nice people can't exist. Plummer's character turns out to be a guy who says that every girl is a dancer of extraordinary talent to sleep with them (but with Nomi, he really means it) and after mothering Nomi for half the movie, Molly gets gang raped cuz I dunno, victims are always asking for jerks to be nice to them and that's what she gets or something equally insightful.
Everyone in the film keeps talking about how Nomi is a phenomenal dancer. I didn't see anything to justify this. Actually, they labored the point so much that it invites scrutiny that her dancing can't live up to. It's kinda cruel really. What if someone made a movie with Steve Buscemi where everyone marvels at how handsome he is? I don't think there's anything wrong with his appearance, but if you spent two hours being asked to look at him and admire his features...
Anyway, this movie is bad in so many ways, but it's memorable. It's like watching Plan 9 for the laughs, but different. It played recently at the Midnight Mass in SF - a venue that plays camp classics like early John Waters and the Mommy Dearest. Verhoeven and Eszthehas set out to make a naughty, dark movie. Instead they made a crude, incompetent and disgusting film. Showgirls is probably exactly the film they intended to make and that's why it's funny.
Gina Gershon didn't stink.