“SHOWGIRLS”
United Artists
(NC-17)
★★ – Review
“Showgirls” opened to massive controversy and media blitz last weekend, but behind the chaos of protest cries, the movie falls flat.
The story line is simple: Nomie (Elizabeth Berkley from “Saved by the Bell”) moves to Las Vegas, Nev., to fulfill her dreams of becoming a dancer.
She begins in a vile strip joint before eventually rising to a classy, but topless, casino dance troupe. Past this basic premise, the viewer will notice an obvious lack of plot. It simply vanishes.
The acting talent checked itself at the door, and the characters are all shallow, one dimensional creatures randomly jumping from one emotion to another without transition.
Also, the script leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth full of dull, undeveloped and immature dialogue. It does have four or five very humorous lines (and one very funny, foul-mouthed emcee at the strip joint), but that’s about it.
However, I must commend the film-makers on depicting the underside of the entertainment industry, which is full of greed, drugs, sex, lies, corruption and ruthlessness. At least that was not lost in the film.
Also, the dance scenes in the casino show were very professional. The dancers were talented and impressive, aided by graceful choreography. Even though the men and women in the scenes were all topless and wearing g-strings, it remained tasteful.
Now, to what everyone is talking about: NC-17 and sex!
Yes, there is gratuitous nudity, but in a film focusing on the sleazy side of Vegas, topless clubs specifically, this is necessary. With an additional focus on sleeping one’s way to the top, depicted sex lends believability.
“Showgirls,” however, did go slightly overboard to sell the film, but not much more than any “skin flick” that is R rated. This is not the X-rated film which most of the audience expects.
The nudity adds up as follows: bare breasts throughout the film, three brief shots of female full-frontal nudity, two brief shots of male rear nudity and a few brief shots of female rear nudity.
It also contains a rather disturbing gang rape scene, but the way in which it is presented displays the brutality and inhumanity of the act, not glorification.
The “sex” in the film, apart from the nudity, is not much different than a daytime soap opera or “USA Up All Night” flick, with the exception of a couple of lesbian kisses.
This is in no way the “hard pornography” that conservative critics have claimed.
Overall, “Showgirls” is a film with a good bit of flesh, no plot, bad acting, bad script and good choreography.
You could go check it out on discount night, but I would recommend staying home and renting “Basic Instinct” or “Sliver,” at least they had plots and better acting.
