Showgirls *** (1995, Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon) – Classic Movie Review 885

In director Paul Verhoeven’s infamous 1995 shocker, Elizabeth Berkley plays Nomi Malone, a tarty, ambitious chorus line dancer who hitches to Las Vegas and tries to find work in a big show. Having failed the audition, she pushes her tough rival Cristal Connors (feisty Gina Gershon) down the stairs to gain all the limelight for herself.

The critics roasted this shockingly tacky movie, with enough adult content and candid dialogue to make most people blush a beetroot shade. But it’s quite a lot of sneaky fun. The performances are brash and bright, screenwriter Joe Eszterhas’s yarn is outrageously bitchy and gossipy, the tatty backstage Las Vegas atmosphere perfectly captured, and it’s set fair to become a cult camp favourite one day.

Even after all he got up to in Blue Velvet, Kyle MacLachlan seems embarrassed as Zack Carey, especially in the lap-dancing scene.

http://derekwinnert.com/blue-velvet-classic-film-review-338/

Verhoeven said: ‘I must admit that I love to shock audiences.’ And he certainly has a pretty good go here, with nudity and erotic sexuality throughout, and some graphic language and sexual violence.

Verhoeven made Robocop, Total Recall and Basic Instinct before Showgirls, and Starship Troopers and Hollow Man afterwards.

http://derekwinnert.com/robocop-1987-classic-film-review-808/

http://derekwinnert.com/starship-troopers-classic-film-review-494/

http://derekwinnert.com/hollow-man-classic-film-review-341/

Eszterhas wrote Flashdance, Jagged Edge and Basic Instinct in his golden age of the 80s, before crashing in the 90s with Sliver, Jade and Showgirls.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 885

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com/