After an onslaught of prerelease hype promising the erotic experience of a lifetime, SHOWGIRLS revealed itself as a 131-minute dose of cinematic saltpeter. Director Paul Verhoeven and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas do their best (which isn't saying much) to exploit our lecherous fantasies about the women of Las Vegas, meanwhile hedging their political bets by moralizing over the deplorable exploitation of women in Las Vegas.
The first teaming of Verhoeven and Eszterhas yielded 1992's BASIC INSTINCT — no masterpiece, to be sure, but a slick, well-crafted come-on that delivered in the end. Here the Beavis and Butthead of Beverly Hills contrived little more than a sea...
Released:
1995
Rated:
NC-17
Length:
131 mins