Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 23, 1995 TAG: 9509260101
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It's a campy soap opera that succeeds brilliantly as unintentional comedy. In all other aspects, the film's excesses prove that those who have questioned the highly paid talents of director Paul Verhoeven and writer Joe Eszterhas are right. The sexual passion and obsessions that drove their last collaboration, "Basic Instinct," have been reduced to caricature.
The heroine is Nomi Malone (Elizabeth Berkley), a feral blonde who has the personality of a barracuda with PMS. She hitchhikes to Las Vegas to find fame and fortune as a topless dancer, but is tricked out of her belongings before her feet hit the pavement. Unaccountably, she is offered a bed by Molly (Gina Ravera) who proves to be Nomi's introduction to a "classy" casino stageshow.
In the meantime, Nomi finds work at the Cheetah, a sleazy club run by Al Torres (B-movie veteran Robert Davi). But she still dreams of the big time. Could she ever take the place of Cristal Connors (Gina Gershon), who stars in the "Goddess" show? Then one night, Cristal and her manager/boyfriend Zack (Kyle MacLachlan) show up at the Cheetah, and the rest of the plot connects familiar dots.
Curiously, no one involved seems to have realized how funny the material is. None of the good lines can be quoted in a family newspaper, but perhaps the best moment is visual. It involves giant neon palm trees that appear at a hilariously inappropriate moment.
Eszterhas and Verhoeven have never been known for creating realistic characters, but these brittle stick figures are so thin that the sexual goings-on have a detached, clinical quality. To be sure, the screen is often filled with the naked breasts, buttocks and pelvises of wildly gyrating dancers. So what? Movies that are just as slick and sleazy as this one - and with equally underpowered casts - fill the shelves of video stores everywhere.
Nudity and simulated sex scenes simply aren't that big a deal anymore. They're not shocking, and the filmmakers don't use them for any larger dramatic purpose. If they'd understood and exploited the comic dimensions of their own material, "Showgirls" might have been something more than a guilty pleasure. On that questionable scale, it certainly earns high marks.
\ Showgirls **
A United Artists release playing at the Grandin and Terrace theaters. 131 min. Rated NC-17 for abundant nudity, strong sexual material, language, rape, violence. Not for kids.
by CNB