Showgirls (1995)

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Elizabeth can't dance, not even jump rope. It's the what worst movie. If you need to waste your time, then this is how to do it. Not one person could dance. The harder Elizabeth tried to be tough and angry it just became so funnier and funnier. Don't waste your time!

There's a point in this film, where it takes a sharp, serious and dark turn, out of damn near nowhere, and it's that moment in the movie that encapsulates just how unfocused Showgirls is.If I was to take this movie seriously, it would be a 3.5/10. If I weren't to take it seriously, then it would be 6/10. The sexiness and erotica points of the film were done relatively well, however, the story, the acting and over acting, the pace and those hilariously ridiculous seizure fests they tried to pass off as dancing or some kind of choreography were just too shockingly laughable.Showgirls is sexy, especially Elizabeth Berkley, and is as progressive as any ordinary film tends and needs to be without being static, however, it ran longer than it had to, and that just stretched an already poorly handled story too thin. Its structure and pace doesn't allow one to feel the necessary emotions of sympathy, however parts like what happens in the beginning of the movie give it some edge. I'll meet Showgirls halfway and give it 5/10.

The general perception of this movie is in such stark contrast to what I thought and felt when I saw it in 1995, that I feel provoked to analyze what I liked about "Showgirls". There are many movies that mean much more to me, but this gap makes it much more interesting for me to write about this film than, say, write about one of my favourite movies by Fassbinder or Malick or Bergman.I had gone to see this movie for its supposed sexiness. And sexy it was, if you managed to ignore the somewhat wooden acting. But there was something going on underneath the surface of the story which I found much more interesting than well-shaped bodies and the obvious plot: I felt caught in the act. There was no difference between me and and the strip-tease and night club audience. The film was actually dissecting me and the role as a member of the audience I played in that setting.There is a scene which, in my mind, proves my theory (*** spoiler alert***): when Nomi takes brutal revenge, we suddenly switch perspective and watch the scene through the eyes of the miscreants who had beaten up her best friend, and who are now under vicious attack by Nomi (***end of spoiler***) - which means we, the audience, are found guilty by Verhoeven, which again is ironic, because it is his film in the first place that tricked us into this position (or did it?).

I don't know how this movie was originally advertised though I imagine it'd been with a more serious tone. Normally when a bad, campy movie is widely hated I've noticed it was due to inaccurate first impressions. This leaves the movie itself with the wrong intended audience.For a drama with a strong, female lead that one could look up to as a role model...don't watch this movie.For a silly knee-slapper with satire oozing from its pores, I will always recommend it. However this movie is not for frigid, I will warn you now. There are very dark themes addressed in this movie most of which receive very little to no criticism from plot progression or individual characters. I'll give you an example; the one morally straight character gets raped.Enjoy. :)