Blu-Ray Review: ‘Showgirls: 15th Anniversary Sinsational Edition’

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CHICAGO – I’ll admit that I never jumped on the “Showgirls” so-bad-it’s-good bandwagon that turned one of the biggest bombs of the ’90s into a cult hit that plays at midnight in theaters around the world. Not unlike “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” people have been drawn to the film that killed the career of nearly everyone involved and is so awful that it became the go-to bad movie reference until “Gigli” came out. Catch up with the suck on the “Showgirls: 15th Anniversary Sinsational Edition.”

HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

Seeing the film for the first time in a decade-and-a-half, I was struck by how truly horrible it is. History has produced a number of theatrical disasters that time proves out merely to be dull above anything else (ex., “Cutthroat Island,” “Waterworld,” “The Avengers,” many more) but “Showgirls” is an absolute train wreck from the very first scene. Paul Verhoeven has proven himself an undeniably talented director with great films like “Robocop” and “Black Book” but “Showgirls” is a great example of moviemaking excess at its worst.

Showgirls: 15th Anniversary Sinsational Edition was released on Blu-ray on June 15th, 2010
Showgirls: 15th Anniversary Sinsational Edition was released on Blu-ray on June 15th, 2010
Photo credit: MGM

With a truly horrendous script by Joe Eszterhas, “Showgirls” contains not one single genuine moment. It is an ode to over-the-top coming-of-age stories that only works if you laugh at it, something MGM has wisely recognized with this tongue-in-cheek release for the movie that derailed the career of nearly everyone involved. Elizabeth Berkely virtually disappeared for a few years after and Verhoeven has only made two English-language films since. Joe Eszterhas? Three movies. And “Jade” barely counts as one of them.

Recognizing that “Showgirls” has become a cult hit, MGM plays it up with a release that “bulges with more features than a lap dancer’s bustier.” The Blu-ray/DVD combo set includes a commentary by writer David Schmader, whose claim to fame seems to be that he’s screened the film dozens of times and provided running commentary while doing so. Instead of a person who actually made the film, the Blu-ray of “Showgirls” includes a commentary by someone who has made a reputation ridiculing it. Wonder what Robert Davi thinks about that?

Other special features include a featurette in which Scores strippers provide a mini-lesson on how to provide a lap dance, a trivia track, and “Pole Dancing: Finding Your Inner Stripper.” It’s funny if you don’t think about the fact that most people who made “Showgirls” probably never realized they were making a movie that even the film’s production company would turn into a joke. If you can’t stop them from laughing, just laugh along with them.

‘Showgirls’ is released by MGM and stars Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, Glenn Plummer, Robert Davi, Alan Rachins, and Gina Ravera. It was written by Joe Eszterhas and directed by Paul Verhoeven. It was released on June 15th, 2010 and is rated NC-17.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

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