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6 Degrees Entertainment

'Showgirls (15th Anniversary Sinsational Edition)'
(Kyle MacLachlan, Glenn Plummer, Robert Davi, et al / Blu ray / NC-17 / 2010 / MGM)

Overview: It’s Vegas, baby, and Nomi’s (Elizabeth Berkley) dreams and desires to make it big are as sharp as a stiletto heel. When she catches the eye of Cristal (Gina Gershon), the Stardust’s sexy headliner, Nomi is on the brink of living her dream. But she soon realizes that there is only room for one starlet on the marquee.

Blu ray Verdict: At the 1995 Golden Raspberry Awards, director Paul Verhoeven proudly appeared to receive the Razzie for worst picture. That spoke volumes to me. If "Showgirls" was deemed one of the worst films of the decade, and the director accepted the Razzie with grace, something tells me that he knew what he's doing. Probably. Some of you have probably heard that it's a mess...it IS a mess. The movie is definitely raunchy and offensive to the core, but to me, that's the point of the whole film.

"Showgirls" is devoid of class, despite the luminous lights and vivid colors that are on constant display. There were stripper joints where all the girls are going full-frontal and the private dances are VERY explicit, the women bicker and backstab each other, men are worse than pigs with their misogynist words of exchanges (and ladies somehow find them flattering), every single event has been outrageous and unrealistic; I may not have been to Las Vegas but I'm certain it isn't as grody as the film depicted, but then no one really talks about what happens in Vegas.

The lead character, Nomi Molane, is established as a hostile, unlikable character who laughably thinks isn't a hooker even though she's doing all those dirty moves in full-on nudity and the girl doesn't grow to be much better; she gets worse as she tries to steal another woman's success in a gaudy "All About Eve" fashion. Her relationship with popular showgirl Cristal is a bizarre one. Cristal loves to damage Nomi's pride even though she gave her the opportunity to join her dance troupe, almost as she wants to get hurt by her; the sadistic relationship is almost random, especially since Nomi started to hate her because she insulted her nails.

There's not a single redeemable character among the cast, almost everyone is represented on the dark side of the Fabulous Las Vegas, and yet the characters are so repulsive, they're actually amusing. I'm not sure if everything that happened in this movie is a satire or not. It's so over-the-top in the performance and the so-called 'dancing' that the movie must've been one big joke, but everyone seems to take it so seriously, not to mention the rape scene.

It has flaws and it's mean-spirited, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying it a bit. Maybe that's why this film is a camp classic. Too bad this film also ruined Elizabeth Berkley's career (and no Woody Allen or anime movie can save it) and began the downfall of MGM. That said, and to the movie's credit, I've seen worse!! [DK] This is a Widescreen Presentation (2.35:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

Pole Dancing: Finding Your Inner Stripper
Lap Dance Tutorial Featuring the World-Famous Girls of Scores
“The Greatest Movie Ever Made” – A Commentary by David Schmader
Showgirls Fact-Up Trivia
A Showgirls Diary

www.MGM.com





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