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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Get Out The Barf Bag - ‘Showgirls’ Is On Video

Once you get past your first few emotional outbursts, Paul Verhoeven’s “Showgirls” may make for fun viewing.

I wouldn’t know because I’m still intimately involved with my Pavlovian reaction to this Paul Verhoeven adaptation of a Joe Eszterhas screenplay about dreams, bared bodies, lounge-act-quality singing and dancing, swimming-pool sex and the subtle nature of Las Vegas life.

And, folks, that reaction registers pretty highly on the gag-o-meter.

But maybe I’m being too harsh. After all, the film has been rushed to video for your viewing pleasure (see the capsule review below). So maybe there is something there actually worth seeing.

And, of course, some folks did like it. There was, for instance, the reaction of Francis Ford Coppola’s daughter Sofia, who claims that in 10 years the film will be considered a “comedy classic.”

Well, Coppola’s daughter may well be correct.

If so, however, “Showgirls” will be funny the way that, say, the films of Zalman King are funny. Or the way that Sylvester Stallone’s “The Specialist” is funny.

Or the way that most Mel Brooks movies anymore are not funny.

In other words, the most memorable aspects of “Showgirls” are unintentional. Whatever, it may still be worth a rent.

Just make sure to keep a barf bag handy.

Showgirls (0 stars)

A young woman with a shady past comes to Las Vegas in search of a better life. No, she isn’t going to play basketball for the Runnin’ Rebels. She wants to get on stage at a casino and parade around naked in front of strangers. It’s the perfect place for a morality play, don’t you think? Well, clearly that’s what director Paul Verhoeven and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas would have you believe. But the formula that worked for them in their previous teaming, “Basic Instinct,” is missing here. There’s no murder to solve, just a simple mystery: How can two such untalented actresses such as Elizabeth Berkley and Gina Gershon get lead roles in a $40 million film? Maybe because they were the only ones willing to take the parts? The lucky ones here are those younger than 17 because they can’t get in to see this turkey. Rated NC-17

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WHAT’S NEW TO VIEW Now available: “Born Wild” (Columbia TriStar), “Showgirls” (MGM/UA). Available on Tuesday: “Separate Lives” (TBA), “Glass Shield” (TBA).

This sidebar appeared with the story: WHAT’S NEW TO VIEW Now available: “Born Wild” (Columbia TriStar), “Showgirls” (MGM/UA). Available on Tuesday: “Separate Lives” (TBA), “Glass Shield” (TBA).