Frantic Faves is a way for me to review some of my favourite films.  Instead of regular reviews which focus on new theatrical releases, Frantic Faves allows me to go back in time and review films I love that may have been forgotten or undervalued by the masses.  Ultimately the segment is just like this site, another exercise in self-satisfaction and a means for me to write about the things I enjoy.

Director: Paul Verhoeven
Writer: Joe Eszterhas
Release Year: 1995

Nomi Malone (Elizabeth Berkley) hitches a ride to Las Vegas in a quest to become a dancer and soon sets about clawing and pushing her way to become the top of the Vegas showgirls.

I’m well aware that Showgirls is considered to be a favourite within the gay community, thanks in no small part to Gina Gershon, but I don’t care, I love this flick.  There’s an almost neverending amount of nudity that I don’t think you’d ever see in a Hollywood movie nowadays.  There’s a great soundtrack and some really impressive choreography too.  Taken seperately these are nothing special.  But when it’s all combined it forms one of my most enjoyable films.  I could watch this thing over and over.

Let’s get one thing straight though, this is not pornography or erotica.  Like I said, there’s a ton of nudity and a healthy dose of sex as well, but it never seems to come across as titillating.  In almost every instance (save for the rape of Molly) the sex is comedic, the acting is overdone, and the characters are loud and brash stereotypes.  But all this is done on purpose.  See Verhoeven and Eszterhas had already done the erotic thriller when they worked on Basic Instinct (a film which I think is dismissed too quickly), so Showgirls is something different.  Eszterhas has always said that he thought Showgirls was a comedy and I agree.  But it’s not an “erotic comedy” because there’s nothing particularly erotic about it.  If anything it’s a titty comedy, but that doesn’t seem to do the movie justice either.  If you’re after proof that this is a comedy take a look at the image below.  When you see the scene actually playing it’s like Kyle MacLachlan is waterboarding her.

The film just exudes that mid-90′s quality that’s so great but so hard to describe, and unfortunately that time has passed.  That’s one of the reasons why I was so disappointed when I learnt that there were already plans for a sequel which would have seen Nomi head off to Hollywood to take on the movie industry.  Eszterhas even had a treatment written titled Bimbos: Nomi Goes to Hollywood.  I’ve been trying for over a year to get hold of that with no success.  There’s even a nod to this plan in the closing of Showgirls when Nomi leaves Las Vegas and the sign with the distance to Los Angeles is in frame.  Ah, what I’d give to read that treatment.

CONCLUSION
There’s a common saying that “something is so bad that it’s good”.  Well I don’t think that’s the case with Showgirls.  It’s just good.  If you watch this thinking that it’s some erotic thriller or drama then you couldn’t be further off base.  It’s a comedy plain and simple.  How else do you explain dialogue like this:

Al Torres:  It must be weird, not having people cum on you.

That’s actually used in a scene which is meant to be touching.  When Al and Henrietta come to see Nomi and admit that they were wrong and she’s done a good job.  If that’s not comedy I don’t know what is.  If anything it’s having a little fun with the erotic sub-genre which seemed to pop up in the 90′s by fooling the viewer into thinking that’s what they’re watching, and then calling them on their misconception.

It’s also nice to know that although the movie bombed at the box office, it’s since gone on to earn over $100 million thanks to the home video market.  I love Verhoeven, I love Eszterhas, and I love this film.

FINAL GRADE: B+