Showgirls

A torrent of ridicule greeted Paul Verhoeven’s 1995 magnum opus Showgirls, an infamous bomb that reconfigured the naïve story of A Star Is Born into a cynically perverse assessment of the American Dream. It’s since become a camp classic, but don’t be so sure Verhoeven isn’t in on the joke. In a notoriously brittle turn, Elizabeth Berkley stars as a wild-eyed ingénue who takes the Las Vegas exotic-dance scene by storm. After logging time at a seedy strip joint, Berkley catches her big break in a casino show, but runs into a sleazy cast of characters, including slickster entertainment director Kyle MacLachlan and the show’s catty star, Gina Gershon. How does Berkley hold on to her integrity in such a den of vice? Listen closely, and it’s possible to hear Verhoeven laughing as she tries.

Updated 01/07/2010