SHOWGIRLS - Movie Review
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- Опубликовано: 18 фев 2024
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Verhoeven is a genius, and to really get a sense of what he was doing with his American movies (robocop, total recall, starship troopers, etc), you NEED to see his Dutch movies. Everything about these over-the-top films are intentional. He is parodying American culture, Showgirls and Starship Troopers are political satire. His Dutch films are emotional, intense and serious, an entirely different experience. The guy was trolling America by holding up a mirror.
Like the rest of his American movies, Showgirls has actors who are in on the joke and actors who are NOT. Berkley was unfortunately NOT in on the joke, which made her perfect for the role. Agent Cooper and Gina Gershon were IN on the joke, and deliver the perfect foil to Berkley’s CRAZY
Yeah if you know Verhoeven you know it’s a satire. To me it’s so weird that people don’t clearly see that 🙂
I've seen all of his movies and I see what you mean. However his pre-Hollywood movies lack well-structured and -paced scripts but after he returned to Europe he only wrote/used entertaining scripts. That's a blessing because his early movies are sometimes hard to get through.
Here’s something i picked up on - Crystal is from Texas and in the end gives Nomi her cowboy hat - and if anybody knows anything about Texans - to give someone else their hat is a HUGE deal.
Someone who worked on Showgirls said that they tried a lot of things that ended up "not working." So, the idea that everything in that film was intentional is dubious, to say the least. I can believe the filmmakers were parodying American culture, but I'm sure there were many elements that were unintentionally funny and ridiculous 😂
A bunch of the actors have said they were making a serious drama. The satire was probably unintentional.
I adore Showgirls. Showed the 4K to a friend last year and it blew...their socks off. Props to Jost Vacano's superb cinematography.
It’s so good 😂
I heard Gina Gershon say that when she arrived on set she felt like she was inside a Brittney Spears concert. And you can really see that connection until you realize Britney Spears wasn't known until years after this film was made. So, really, this film was Brittney Spears BEFORE Brittney Spears was Brittney Spears.
I would recommend the documentary "You Don't Nomi" about this film which is quite enlightening in several parts. One example is that Verhoeven has stated(after the theatrical run) that the film was always meant to be satire and camp but the documentary shows actors stating they thought they were making a serious drama and Verhoeven even had a large coffee table book stating the serious dramatic elements he was creating about this lifestyle. The second is that the theatrical run was a complete flop but the movie soared on home video making $100 mil making it one of MGM's top twenty bestsellers of all time My guess it was all the teenage boys who could not get into the NC17 rated film and their dads who didn't want to been seen going to an NC17 movie. The most depressing part was seeing Elizabeth Berkley ostracized from tv and movies in her career while MGM was making a mint off her efforts. Life imitating the movie perhaps. Though I would love to see the off Broadway musical of the show.
Overalll Showgirls is perfectly summed up by one critic as "A Masterpiece of S%&T". Only Paul Verhoeven could have made.
I lived in Las Vegas, in 1995. When, this movie came out.
And Vegas, was more fun back then.
Disneyfication of adult spaces. Corporations: ‘we need to expand our profits by targeting this adult entertainment area to families!’ Same with Times Square area in NYC. It goes hand in hand with thus country devolving into puritanism. Obviously crime was bad in 70s-80s NYC, but to cleanse darkness completely from the surface just denies its existence and forces it underground where it can’t be expressed, and it can come out in other (oftentimes bad) ways.
@@sub-jec-tiv Times Square was insane, even in the very early 2000s.
I remember that Jacques Rivette, one of my favorite directors, loved the film. Back then I did not understand why, but in retrospect I can see that the film has something unique.
Have you seen Out 1
…in one sitting? 😏
Jacques Rivette also loved Elizabeth Berkley
Rivette also loved Bogdanovich's catastrophic Old Hollywood style musical comedy At Long Last Love, an epic flop from which Bogdanovich's career never totally recovered.
I looked through your videos yesterday to see if you had reviewed Showgirls because I found it to be a difficult movie to evaluate. I was a little disappointed that you hadn't reviewed it yet. Thanks for fixing that about 14 hours later 🙂
If the Pearl "I'M A STAR!" monologue was a person, Nomi eating french fries is what you'd get.
Showgirls has gotta be one of the funniest movies i’ve ever seen. unbelievable, ridiculous script coupled with excessive direction. & kyle maclachlan is the cherry on top
This is my favorite piece of criticism you’ve made. Such a difficult and interesting movie to talk about
Got a notification bubble.
Saw the channel.
Saw the movie title.
What are we waiting for?
Hell yes, I love doggie chow
Brilliant review!!
I recently rewatched it and it churned away in my mind for a week.
Such a strange, special masterpiece.
And Elizabeth Berkley is unblinking, delirious INTENSITY.
Al Torres: You're a f*cking stripper, don’t you get it? Nomi Malone: I'm a dancer.
I remember David Letterman mocked the movie, saying "I'm not a thripper; I'm a danther!"
"Everybody got AIDS and shit" is one of those lines that I can remember on a bad day and it will immediately cheer me up a little.
Hell, this whole movie is a cure for depression---it's so damn FUNNY!
Please review more Verhoeven!!!!
I recently watched this film on Prime Video and loved it so much I bought the Vinegar Syndrome box set in 4K. Great review as always.
Uuuh, great choice! 👌
Vinegar Syndrome is the best!
Barry Manilow: Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl.
DFL: Baby, you don't know the half of it.
I rewatched this for the first time since it came out. I absolutely enjoyed it as a campy, fun, social statement and interestingly honest look at Vegas at that time.🤷🏻♂️
I am biased to to like this film because Kyle MacLachlan is in it. I cant tell if its actually good.
Kyle McLaughlan peaked in _The Hidden,_ which is a fantastic movie in its way. The music alone puts it over the top, and when you add Claudia Christian's debut, it's one of the best of its time.
Wow, blown away that you unironically like this film. Props to Vinegar Syndrome for putting this on my radar last year when they released it on 4K, it was a blind buy and I loved it! It was waaay darker than I expected and the hot tub sex scene is definitely something to behold.
Dark yes..Maybe have a look at my recent comment.
The most interesting scene was the group audition for the nasty producer who kept telling all the girls to go "get [parts of their anatomy] fixed!"
The sex scene made my ribs hurt from laughing so damn hard! Love this movie.
What a coincidence, I just watched Showgirls a few days ago due to the RLM Re:View video. Definitely enjoyed it!
Two things hardly anybody seems to know about Verhoeven:
1) He has a degree in mathematics which he studied at Leiden university before he went to film school.
2) He wrote a book/ study about (the historical) Jesus, a fascination he’s had for decades since an existential crisis and psychoses gave him a full on ‘touched by god’ religious experience which he knew was just his own mind playing ‘tricks’ on him, but it did cause a life long fascination with the historical Jesus. He wanted to make a movie about the historical Jesus as well - his take on Jesus - but unfortunately it proved impossible to get off the ground.
Well, in a way he of course has made a Jesus movie, the ‘American Jesus’ movie Robocop 🙂 (and perhaps Total Recall somewhat too)
Great review, I like how you explain films in a way where I learn new ways to talk them. I enjoy directors who do challenging things like Lynch, Jodorowski, and Noe and your description of some of their works helped me appreciate them more and introduce them to friends.
Oh, I love Verhoeven. Gotta see your review of Benedetta!
Just watched this for the first time. When I got to the end, I caught myself thinking "what a dumb character. What are they running from? They've learned nothing!"
Then I remembered my 20s and it all clicked 😅
Your review is just the kind of "conversation" point I needed, post-viewing, to really sharpen my perspective of my own feelings toward the film.
Honestly, extremely surprised by the depth and honesty and unexpected, somewhat ironic display of real life that was captured in this work.
My G-d, you're articulate - analyzing a film w/ the same ease I open my fridge. I only know how a movie makes me feel - I can't tell you why to save my life. My prejudices always overwhelm my response. E.g., I hate bombastic cinema; yet, I deliberately sought out "Oppenheimer" in 70mm and, unsurprisingly, loathed it.
By contrast, you possess the emotional intelligence and love of cinema to explore a film w/o allowing your prejudices to dictate your response. I'm far too quick to dismiss movies that don't work, whereas, you're able to decenter yourself to analyze a film w/ far more equanimity and in greater depth than I am. I'm in awe.
Clearly, emotional intelligence - self-knowledge - provides a path to explore movies - and, undoubtedly, life - more profoundly and in a way that resonates w/ othes. I wish I possessed 1/10th of your emotional intelligence... maybe it's not too late to cultivate it!
Goddamnit, now I need to re-watch this.
Unironically my favourite movie. Hugely underrated and misunderstood.
Thrust it! Thrust it! Come on! Thrust it!
One of the most quotable movies of all time ... Forget about Ahnuld, Showgirls baby!
you're amazing I love your reviews so much! I love it when you hate a movie I love & love a movie I hate just to hear your reasoning & perspective. Ever seen Fright Night I am obsessed with this 80s movie right now
_Fright Night_ is terrific! Roddy MacDowell, all the way! Campier than the _Planet of the Apes_ franchise (now almost forgotten, mercifully).
I was able to get the "boxed" set with poster many years ago. I love Paul Verhoven movies
This is my new favorite top review of yours!✨️ I agreed with mostly everything you've stated here. I would very much like to see your review on the film Zola (2020).
So glad to see that you’re not just appreciating it in an ironic way. That honestly annoys me more than people who flat out hate it, but to each their own. Excellent review! One of the best I’ve seen about this film
This, coming from you, gives me lots of motivation to finally watch this movie. I am a big verhoeven fan but this movie i was always very cautious about… i own it in a set with the documentary „you dont nomie“
which i also wanted to see for the longest time…
Have you seen this one? i am told it‘s quite good…
So this week i‘ll get that double feature going come hell or high water…
Thanks for the push…
This movie is awesome. Fun and stylish. It's littered with flaws but man is so damn good and entertaining. Gina Gershon is incredible and the tension between her and Berkley is so great. So glad you like it too. I hate seeing people beat it down
Love your critics. I've been waiting you to abord this specific film for a while. It is one of mi favorite films from the 90's. Never understand the bad reviews.
Love your reviews. I'll love to hear your thoughts on Total Recall (1990) it's a really interesting film to discuss.
Showgirls is fantastic. I mean it’s just delightful to watch and a ton of fun. How could anyone hate it?!
I was 23 when this came out and soon as it hit the video stores it became one of the most rewatched and quoted movies in our household of mostly female 20 something roommates - we all understood that it was hot garbage but we all also loved in unironically.
"What's your favorite scary movie?" "Showgirls" -- Scream 2
great video! i love your content
I purchased a copy of this film on disk, a few years back, to put in my collection. It is a guilty pleasure to watch this movie! Though not perfect, films like this are not made anymore!!
Great scene in the swimming pool ! 😆 🤣 The Passion !
Except for that fact that Verhoeven seems to think a man’s penis is located on his upper chest.
You single-handedly have the best review of all time of this movie ❤ I was obsessed with it when it came out when I was in middle school. Almost every older millennial I know was/is as it turns out. A classic for sure.
Love your review, I watched this when it premiered at the theater and I loved it. Multiple perspectives that you get! A good film should push buttons and challenge our likes and dislikes. And as a guy I will be honest I went because beautiful woman, but there is so much more.
Just love Paul Verhoeven, he has his style and at times pretty much over the top. My personal favorite was a little known thriller called The Fourth Man. (check it out if you had not seen it.) Now Showgirls? Over the top and I didn't care for it. Nope. However I really needed to hear a different perspective on this movie and you provided that. I thank you for that. Gives me a new insight. Will I see it again? I don't think so. But it does give me food for thought.
I think it's SAD how all the hate towards the film killed Elizabeth Berkeley's career
I love the "you ate all the chips" scene. Never fails to make me laugh
Excellent review. Enjoyable, satirical film. Always enjoy your movie opinions, insight, and reviews, DFL.
what's your opinion of The Zone of Interest?
I loved it and was so confused at all the bad reviews I was seeing all over youtube??? Thanks for this review, I thought I was losing my mind.
This movie is childhood memories for me I miss the 90s my childhood. Happy to see you reviewing this 90s movie.
Where is DALE COOPER when you need him???
I've always found the controversy of this film alluring and needed an excuse to check it out, so I bailed out of this review a few minutes in to watch it relatively blind...and I was pleasantly surprised. There's an added layer of fun when you finish the movie and get to check out the critical reviews. It seemed plainly obvious to me what Verhoeven was doing given his past work, but the film just whoosh'd over a lot of heads. Even people involved in the film say things about it where all I can think is "that was the point!" Thanks for doing this review, you continue to help me broaden my tastes and it is much appreciated.
I really enjoyed your outlook on this movie and now I want to watch it again thank you for the review
Great review. I feel like this needs a double bill with "Applause"... not the Mamoulian, but the musical version of "All About Eve" with Lauren Bacall hitting a lot of the same notes as "Showgirls." I was hearing the "Welcome to the Theatre" number from "Applause" in my head all the way through the Gershon-Berkley scenes.
I watched this a couple of days ago. I also love this film unironically, I think it became an easy movie for a lot of people to hate and a lot of people didn’t want to admit they liked it.
I’m not gonna pretend this film is perfect but it’s genuinely funny to me when it’s trying to be, I like a lot of the performances and you have an absolute master director. Was really happy when you said you don’t see this as a guilty pleasure but a movie you just really like.
Great review as always.
I came across a $3 DVD of this today and had to add it to the collection.
It’s the un-sexiest sexy movie of all time. Verhoeven is no fool, he’s an auteur, and you’re absolutely right, it’s a view of America from a foreigner. It reads as completely insane because he made a film set in an alternate universe where America really is what it appears to be to Europeans.
cute dress, seems like something Nomi might wear
♥️ I love showgirls, I went to the movies twice when it came out. It’s just brilliant.
Would love to see you review Viva, same director as The Love Witch Anna Biller
Remembered seeing this at the cinema, it was ok. One to re-check out then !
I enjoyed showgirls because I was a 16 year old boy at the time so I watched it as an adult strictly for the script and acting and it was beyond terrible.
Always a pleasure and a great review.
As usual Paul Verhoeven goes “all in” in this movie. In view of his others “Hollywood” movies, I suspect another satire and critic of the system. The protagonist comes to “bright lights, big city” where “everybody has a chance to succeed and be the best.” Finally, exploited and defeated, the protagonist gives it up, and is lured to another “bright lights, big city” : Hollywood. The show must go on for our “showgirl.”
It took me a number of viewings to appreciate this film as well. Back in the 90's when I saw it for the first time, I was unfortunately greatly affected by the consensus that this was one of the worst films of all-time, but yet like you said with multiple viewings it grew on me and made me enjoy the film so much more. It is by far not my favourite Verhoeven film (that would be a toss up between Basic Instinct and Soldier of Orange right now), but it is a definite must-see and I would also highly recommend you watch the documentary You Don't Nomi for many more great insights.
The content we want, and the person we want it from!
This is your best take 🙏🏻
Showgirls is amazing
Wow. Can't wait for you to pontificate on the parallels between Ken Russell and F.W. Muranu 😂
Woman....we need a Kenneth Anger retrospective, like....now.❤
wow, that was a great review and not what I expected
Amazing review. Made me very emotional
This review was...surprising! 😂 How are you with RoboCop or Total Recall?
I am so glad you feel that way about this movie 🎬.. I loved it when I saw it in the 90s.. the hate WAS jarring. I never understood all that.. oh well.. lol..
Had such a long day. See Maggie's got a new video. I'll watch it for some reprieve. Only to hear that Showgirls is one of her all time favourites. Could this day get any worse.
After seeing a handful of reassessments of this film, I'm half tempted to give it another try. But I think I'll just chalk it up to 'not my thing' and let it go.
Coincidentally is the last movie I watched and I loved it too. I don't understand why people hated it so much because if you don't buy the characters and the situations at least you could laugh. It's a fun movie. I personally feel there are things about the development of Nomi's character that are contradictory and a little confusing. I can't say what it is exactly because it is a major spoiler but if that thing would had been perfectionated it may have given more context to her personality and made her more likeable. Just a speculation.
I also felt it was kind of Mulholland Drive but I see aspects of Scarface too. The rough environment, the way characters survive on it, the wild and difficult protagonist wanting something so badly they would do anything, the moral/ethic background... I don't know, I may be reading too much into it but it was a great experience. Also, poor Elizabeth Berkley. Crtitics were very unfair to her.
Great review! You articulated perfectly the review of a movie that is very difficult to explain, as always :)
I would love to know your opinion on the film “Women In Love” (1970).
I enjoyed the irony of the scene the kids were around the dancers being shocked by the one lady saying "the F word." despite the clearly not child friendly environment theyre in
i heard that's Randy Meeks favorite scary movie
i love doggie chow too!
I'd love to hear your review of Raise The Red Lantern it's definitely my favorite Chinese film and one of my all time favorites. Another I would like to hear your review on is God's Own Country. I know you didn't like Call Me By Your name and I found that I liked it less with each time I watch it. I find God's Own Country to be the superior and underrated compared to Call Me By Your Name.
I agree with what you say. I do quite enjoy this movie. Some of the dialogue is kinda wonky but I don't care in the long run. I also love that to this day Elizabeth Berkeley still stands up for her role in this movie.
Hahaha. At last. The movie was a trip to see when it came out. Liz looks smoking hot in this. DIFFERENT PLACES!!!
Great review, love your passion for it even if I disagree. To me it felt like it was trying too hard to be diet-early-PTA while also having a soapy and dated 90s feel. The redundancy and sidetracking frustrated me so much bc I knew what the dynamics of the characters were going to be but they kept prolonging it more and more.
Maybe part of my issue is that i didn't feel the satirical angle at all. Im usually really good at deciphering whats satire or not but this was one where it might have gone right over my head. It felt at face value to me even if some of the lines and characters were over the top.
I remember watching Showgirls in theatre back in the day and laughing all the time. I liked it more than Starship Troopers, which I found too much "in the face" for a satire (I changed my opinion on ST after the war in Iraq in 2003 showed how realistic ST was). However, even if it is one of my "guilty pleasure" movies, I always wondered how much it was intentional. At the end of the day I guess that had it been a movie by Stanley Kubrick EVERYONE would have said "The Master of Satire did it again!"
I really like Showgirls. Tarantino, among other directors, loved it. He said it was an exploitation movie that somehow was distributed as a mainstream film.
I was a teenager and one of my childhood crushes, Jessie Spanno was dancing naked so I was instantly intrigued. Best. Film. Ever ❤
If you love this movie, you HAVE to get the Vinegar Syndrome 4K set. It’s incredible! It’s the ultimate release for this masterpiece.
I'll be honest, watched the movie as a teenager because I was just a horny little bastard, but i'll give it a rewatch now that i'm older lmao.
Why do you not mention Elizabeth Berkeley, interesing perhaps ?
nashville review soon?😊
This movie is rare in that it is one of the few movies that were rated NC-17 by the Motion Picture Association of America.
Off topic, but since you're a huge fan of Orson Welles, have you seen/what do you think of his late-career commercials for just about everything (most famously Paul Masson)? 'We will sell no wine before it's time'!
I liked him when he turned into a mouse and tried to take over the world :)
It's been mentioned before but I also found Showgirls to be a very loose remake of All About Eve...one of my favorite films ever. Very similar.
I saw Showgirls when the film was first released. Some of my favorite films are created to be serious but turn out very camp like The Valley of the Dolls and Mommie Dearest. The only part I don't like the assault.
Haven't seen the movie in years, I'll have to revisit it.
You nailed this review. No pun intended. Or, maybe I did intend it.
So cool that you reviewed this. I prefer Flesh + Blood and Basic Instinct, but Showgirls comes in a close third. I would say the film's fatal flaw is its sudden moral stance on rape at the end. I would liken it to Kubrick choosing to stamp on a tragic ending to Dr. Strangelove, complete with crying women and children and operatic sadness playing over dusty backdrops. Or Gerwig getting on her soapbox after 20 minutes of satirical bliss in Barbie...
Oh wait... That second example actually happened!
The further Verhoeven stays away from attempting genuine emotion, the better his movies are. So glad he usually chose to make the movies he wanted, rather than the stuff he thought would win him approval from others.