Showgirls is the greatest cult movie of my generation. Nothing else even comes close as this for being so great for all the wrong reasons. I first saw this flick on its initial theatrical run and although I liked it, I have only come to appreciate just how fantastic it is upon repeated viewings and it gets better every time. The biggest mystery with Showgirls is trying to figure out if everyone was in on the joke or if this truly was just a complete artistic failure that happened to be so perfectly bad that it has become legendary. I feel that director Paul Verhoeven knew exactly what he was doing especially with the release of Starship Troopers the following year. Verhoeven is not a hack as he directed Robocop, Total Recall, and Basic Instinct before this and all of these are enjoyable flicks. He has a campy style and audiences should not be shocked at how this turned out considering the fact that Verhoeven's other movies all contain satirical elements and big performances from the leads. I also feel that a number of the cast members also knew what they were doing as accomplished actors Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, and Robert Davi deliver performances that are so confidently cheesy that the must have known how they would translate to the finished product. The only wildcards are Elisabeth Berkley, Glenn Plummer, and some of the supporting cast who were either fully aware or just magically fit into the mayhem perfectly despite their best intentions.

Berkley stars as Nomi Malone, a complete bitch who sets the tone right away by pulling a switchblade on a guy who picks her up when she is hitchhiking to Vegas. Upon arrival, Nomi is taken in by a wardrobe assistant named Molly (Gina Ravera) who gives her some fries. A number of months pass and Nomi is now stripping at a local peeler bar run by a kindhearted sleaze named Al (Davi). In her quest for stardom, Nomi meets the leading lady from a topless production at the one the big hotels named Cristal Connors (Gershon) who takes an interest in Nomi and helps her in her career while simultaneously playing head games with her (such as an early encounter where she gets Nomi to give her boyfriend a lap dance while she watches). Nomi eventually gets a shot a fulfilling her dreams of becoming a dancer when Cristal arranges an audition for her. Meanwhile, Nomi is being seduced by a guy named James (Glenn Plummer) who is trying to get her to star in his low budget, yet artier dance production. Nomi goes for the gold and after a number of demeaning encounters gets the part. Her insatiable thirst for fame matched with her abuse at the hands of Cristal eventually leads to Nomi crossing a line that leads to tragedy. As Nomi claws her way to the top, she loses sight of who she is and eventually has to make choices that will affect her entire future.

Although the plot is fairly simplistic, the way that it is pulled off is epic. Berkley plays Nomi with spastic mannerisms that are a sight to behold. She gets overly excited about small things, flies off the handle in anger with no warning, and seems to have little control over her emotions. I am not sure if this was a conscious attempt at giving the character some unique traits but I know that Jessie on "Saved by the Bell" never acted like this. Her attempts at eroticism never come through and any sexual encounter looks completely unnatural such as the lap dance where she looks like she is trying to impale herself on MacLachlan or the infamous pool sex scene where she flaps around like a fish having a seizure while out of water. All the while, she is fascinating to watch and certainly holds the viewer's attention. In the climax, she turns into a Russ Meyer heroine and turns her dance moves into kung-fu weapons while kicking the shit out of somebody. Berkley got a bad rap for this performance but whatever she was trying to do gave us a character that fans of this movie appreciate and I think she should be proud of what she has done as this movie and the character of Nomi will live on. It makes me really sad that we will never see the sequel that Verhoeven and writer Joe Eszterhas had planned where Nomi takes on Hollywood. Plummer also should be commended for giving us such an awesome caricature of a struggling black artist. James is clearly trying to get down Nomi's pants but also seems to truly believe that he is an artist. He has an amazing use of the term "bitch" that seems like an afterthought whenever he uses it.

There is so much quotable dialogue in this flick, it is ridiculous. Gershon appears to love delivering all of her lines whether she is talking about her breasts, eating dog food, or messing with Nomi. She is perfectly melodramatic as an aging starlet exerting her power while trying to hold on to her youth. Davi is also one of the high points of the cast saying the most sexist things in a lovable way. My favourite Davi scene occurs when he shows up at the hotel to congratulate Nomi on her success and ends their exchange by deadpanning the line, "It must be weird, not having anybody cum on you." Classic. I don't think anyone else could have done this character the way Davi does.

Overall, this is an absolute must for fans of bad movies. In my opinion, there is no substitute for Showgirls when you want to invite some friends over to have some beer and some laughs. The only caution is that you have to know what you are getting into because the worst experience for a fan of this flick is watching it with someone who doesn't get it. When it came out, I remember hearing someone (John Waters perhaps?) predict that this would become a midnight mainstay much in the way that The Rocky Horror Picture Show did in the 1970s. I am surprised that this has not happened yet but I think it will over time. In this age of cautious studios, test screenings, and boardroom scripts, it is unlikely that we will ever see a big budget movie like this again where a director like Paul Verhoeven is given final cut on an NC-17 release. We can thank the movie gods that were were bestowed this piece of golden trash to be enjoyed for generations to come. In the immortal words of Nomi Malone in her catchphrase that never caught on: it doesn't suck. (Josh Pasnak, 11/3/13)

Directed By: Paul Verhoeven.
Written By: Joe Eszterhas.

Starring: Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, Glenn Plummer.