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List Price: $19.98 | | Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Salesrank: 7221
Released: July 17, 2007 |
| Our Price: $12.35 |
| Used Price: $11.99 |
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MPAA Rating: NC-17
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Seduction, passion and power struggles unfold when the creators of Basic Instinct, director Paul Verhoeven (Starship Troopers) and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas (Original Sin) blow the lid off the seemingly glamorous world of Las Vegas show dancing to create one of the most controversial and shockingfilms of all time. Nomi Malone (Elizabeth Berkley) has what it takes to make it as a Las Vegas show girl what she doesn't have is a way in. To survive, she accepts the only job available: lap dancing at a seedy club. And when she meets Cristal (Gina Gershon), Vegas' reigning show girl, Nomi wants everything she has including her boyfriend (Kyle MacLachlan). And as Nomi dives deeper into the world she so desperately desires, a rivalry between the two women heats up. The battle for the spotlight becomes so fiercely competitive that it drives Nomi to desperate lengths and devious heights for fame in Sin City.
Description of Showgirls (Fully Exposed Edition):
When Goldie Hawn recommended Elizabeth Berkley for a small role in First Wives Club, she publicly stated that Berkley deserved the opportunity to redeem herself after starring in the ridiculous Showgirls. That says it all: this sleazy, stupid movie, which mixes soft pornography with the clichés of backstage dramas, is the kind of project an aspiring actress would have to put well behind her to keep a career going (though costar Gina Gershon certainly benefited from her, uh, exposure in the film). Berkley plays a drifter who hitches a ride to Las Vegas, becomes a lap dancer and then a performer, and discovers--gasp!--there's a whole world of sex and violence involved with these things. Gershon is probably the best element in the film, playing Berkley's bisexual rival for the big spotlight on stage. Joe Eszterhas was well overpaid for writing this howler, and director Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct) should have known better than to take it seriously. --Tom Keogh
Showgirls (Fully Exposed Edition) Reviews:
Showgirls...Schmowgirls!! 
2009-09-18 - I first saw this film at the Theatre about 14 years ago. It has lost none of its "appeal" over time. Kyle Maclaghlin gives a particularly "wooden" performance, following his success in "Twin Peaks"!! ... and before "Desperate Housewives"??!!
Five Stars for a Steaming Plate of Hot Mess!
2009-09-13 - I am completely biased. I love bad "B" movies, and if they manage to be even worse, so much the better. This movie - to put it mildly - MUST be shown to every film student under the lecture line - "Please do not let this happen to you." The acting is over-the-top God awful (except, oddly, for Gina Gershon, who manages to give her bisexual vixen some heart and pizzazz), the script makes no sense, and the characters, save Gershon's, are not even developed. The subplots (?) are never explored, and it must be said that there is an appallingly brutal and utterly gratuitous rape scene that should have gotten the writer and director up on morals charges. It is, simply put, one of the absolute trashiest and most riduculous movies I have ever seen. Ed Wood would have been proud.
I do have to say this though. The dance sequences were well-choreographed and highly entertaining to watch. It is a pity that the whole movie could not be developed around those. The costuming for the dance sequences was also exceedingly well-done.
So, five stars for sheer horrendous writing and film-making. So if you want to shut off your brain and have a hearty laugh at watching this train-wreck unfold, "Showgirls" is for you!
One Of The Best Comedies I've Ever Seen!
2009-07-30 - Okay, so I just saw this movie again tonight for the first time in many years, inspiring this review. I have never laughed so hard in my life. What's interesting is I don't believe this film was supposed to be a comedy, but it sure turned out that way.
First of all Elizabeth Berkley's performance is classic, timeless, and will go down in history as one of the worst ever committed to the big screen. She is anything but pretty, tall and lanky with a horse face to boot. In every single scene she is angry and storming out of someplace. I have never seen a character as consistently mad in a movie as this one. I'm not talking a little mad, I'm talking swearing like a sailor (actually she would make a sailor blush), punching and pushing people around, and causing a scene! You want to see what a typical neurotic, crazy American woman is like, this is your movie! She is so whacked out her issues have issues.
Some of my favorite moments:
1. Her lap dance scene with Kyle MacLachlan, it's the stuff of nightmares, and humor.
2. Her pool sex scene is butt gusting funny as you watch this woman flop around as though she's having an epileptic seizure. Even the guy she is with (again Kyle MacLachlan) seems genuinely concerned and confused watching her.
3. Her dance scene with a character named James is also the stuff of nightmares, but also funny.
4. Any scene where she is shoving a hamburger down her throat, and there are many of these. Stripper with a heart of gold who loves fast food burgers!
5. Basically any scene where she is dancing will induce side splitting laughter. Watching this woman pout her horseface trying to act sexy while thrusting her pelvis with such force you think she's going to throw her hip out, is a sight to see!
6. The scene with her and Gina Gershon's character having lunch together discussing how much they like dog food and which brand they like. The scene started out with Gina Gershon's character questioning whether Nomi likes brown rice and vegetables and then moves on to a discussion about dog food.
If you've avoided this film because of all the negative reviews you owe it to yourself to watch it at least one time. It's the perfect film to watch if you're down and out, or depressed, because you will find yourself laughing so hard that by the end of the movie you'll feel much better. Elizabeth Berkley was in some 80's sitcom that I never watched, but I'm thinking if she was as funny (unintentionally that is) in those I need to seem them! Saved By The Bell I believe. This movie destroyed whatever career she might have had. I will give Elizabeth Berkley credit, because if it were me in that lead role I would have committed suicide out of shame.
One of the greatest movies ever
2009-07-07 - I was at the VHS section of Hollywood Video and saw this movie covered in dust, along with all the other VHS tapes. I thought it was weird because VHS tapes are the latest technology! Anyway, I didn't hesitate to rent this because it was very critically acclaimed and is generally considered one of the greatest films of all-time. The dude at the cash register laughed and said, "This is one of the worst movies ever!" and suggested me some Godfather crap. I told him that I liked movies like SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2, Disaster Movie and From Justin To Kelly. He stopped laughing for some reason. So I get home and pop Showgirls into my VHS player and I'm blown away! The unpredictable plot, tasteful use of nudity and good acting really made me wonder why this movie hasn't won Oscars! Recommended for all.
Live Nude Sluts 
2009-06-01 - What more need be said about "Showgirls"?
That Liz Berkley can't act, is kind of ugly and dances like a pregnant yak?
That Gina Gershon can't act, is kind of ugly and dances like a pregnant yak?
That the script is atrocious, the production values non-existant and the acting worse than anything seen in an Ed Wood movie?
"Showgirls" is like a train wreck, you don't want to watch but you can't look away!
This dreadful dreck gets one star for the production and five stars for pure campy trash appeal which gives a 3 star overall rating.
View at your own risk.
