Reviews

The seedy under belly of Las Vegas? Nude lap dancing? A tough old broad with a heart of gold and the mouth of a sewer? A ruthless climb to the top? Kicking a fuax Michael Bolten's azz in thigh highs? This movie has it all and then some! Showgirls is one of the funniest comedies ever made. OK, so it was supposed to be an erotic drama but forget that and sit back and laugh your way through the very best of the worst movies ever made.

There wasn't a thing that did not go wrong with this film. The script reads like it was created via the Hollywood processor. Feed in one part 'Flashdance', another 'Basic Instinct' and with more than a with a tiny dose of the great 'All About Eve', and then stir with a few characters lifted from a 'Mannix' rerun: the Cheetah club operator (who reads like he came from pimp school 101) the chubby foul-mouthed MC with a heart of gold, and best friend who will have to suffer and ladies and gentleman, we are ready to shoot! And what about the cast? Madonna, in one of the few wise film choices she made, turned down the role of the leading lady of Las Vegas and Gina Gershon stepped in. Drew Barrymore said no thanks to the role of Nomi, the ambitious dancer who was ready to claw her way to the top, and after they hit up every B, C and D list of actresses they ended up casting Elizabeth Berkley. Who, up to then, was best known for her sweetie pie role on the tween comedy "Saved By the Bell.'

Director Paul Verhoven and screenwriter Joe Esterhaus re-team coming of the world wide smash hit 'Basic Instinct' and most likely had virtual carte blanche, no one to say no. They made gazillions for the investors of Basic and were at the pinnacle of their power.

A lousy script, incredibly poor casting choices and direction and big glitzy production numbers and the recipe for a disaster of legendary proportions was the result.

Sit back, have a glass of champagne, get ready to toss your fries and sit back and enjoy. You will be able to tell all your friends you saw it long before the Broadway musical all drag version was all the rage!

I am an enormous fan of Julianne Moore (ok she should not have done that Hannibal movie, but whose perfect?) and added this flick to my Netflix queue based on that. What a delightful surprise this movie turned out to be.

The story of a struggling mother, her ten children and her boozy, irresponsible husband is a charming, memorable and moving film.

The family is broke and the kids keep coming and Dad isn't bringing home much, and has a strong taste for the drink, what options does a busy mother have? She can't get a job. Married women didn't work back then and with ten children, how could she? Evelyn Ryan, Julianne's character, finds a solution: contesting. Back in the 50's contests were all the rage and if you could write a jingle, had strong alliteration skills, you could be a winner! Never preachy and without a note of false 'triumph' the film is quietly elegant and packs a punch teaching us more about the role of women in that era, the Catholic Church, and dealing with adversity than a dozen Lifetime message movies of the weeks.

Where on earth did this movie hide? If I recall correctly it barely played and was limited to the Art House circuit. Where was the Miramax style campaign that could have easily turned this into a mainstream box office sensation? Was someone asleep at the wheel?

If you love Hollywood romantic comedy formula movies, like 'Pretty Woman' and expect everything to be neatly spelled out and wrapped in a pretty bow stick to watching your Julia Roberts DVD, this one is not for you.

Parker Posey is a delight in the lead role of an advertising executive living in Cleveland with her dishwater dull High School Biology teacher husband played by Paul Rudd.

After ten years in the soulless suburbs and the only Joneses on the block without a pool, life on the surface looks good for the couple. A pretty house with an ultra modern kitchen, her career is on track and she has just been made V.P. at her ad agency, and he is 'getting it' all the time. But what's wrong? That's where our story begins and where it goes is anybodies guess.

The big O in the title refers to one thing, the one Parker's character cannot achieve, and the film explores her journey to see if she can resolve it.

Parker shines, again, and proves to be perfect in the lead. Rudd is solid as the dumpy husband. The supporting cast is a delight too and includes Danny Devito, who appears to play a Louish character ala 'Taxi,' at first, and Liza Minelli, (yes, it really is her!) and Heather Graham in an unbilled supporting role and who has never having looked better on screen.

It is one part feminist statement about owning ones body, one part slap stick comedy, the pager sequence could have been part of a 'Three's Company' plot (if it had aired on cable and been R rated) and one part breezy romantic comedy with an unlikely romantic counter part for Posey this film is a delight and total original. .

The best thing about the film is that defies convention and is thoroughly enjoyable in the process. There is no great moral dilemmas, which if you are used to Hollywood formula appear telegraphed and then never materializes, or obnoxious 'I am Woman' statements. The kind of statements that a lot of message movies in which the film maker is going to 'educate the ignorant masses' often falls victim to.