Cinema Connoisseur: Showgirls is simply sinsational

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Showgirls (1995)

The term "the greatest" gets thrown around quite a bit. I myself have been guilty of declaring at least 13 different movies in the past year alone to be the greatest movie of all time. Well, it turns out I was wrong. If you didn't believe me any of the previous 13 times, believe me now. This week I will be reviewing the greatest movie of alltime. One that features superb acting, brilliant storytelling and subtle eroticism. This week I will be taking a look at the landmark 1995 motion picture Showgirls.

Showgirls was a very highly anticipated movie when it was released over 15 years ago by many cinema lovers, including myself. Just as eager filmgoers sometimes camp out for Star Wars and Harry Potter movies, I too was pitching a tent in anticipation of this film.

Showgirls tells the tale of Nomi Malone (Elizabeth Berkley), a young woman who dreams of a career as a dancer. That dream comes true when she lands a job at Cheetah's Topless Club in Las Vegas. However, the realization of her lifelong dream isn't enough for young Ms. Malone. Some people are just greedy, I guess.

Nomi manages to land a position (and ends up in several other positions) at a topless showgirl revue. There she enters into a bizarre yet sexy love triangle with head showgirl Cristal Connors (Gina Gershon) and Cristal's boyfriend Zach (Kyle MacLachlan). Cristal is a nasty woman who never misses a chance to take Nomi down several notches, which isn't easy, considering she is already a stripper.

Cristal gets her comeuppance when Nomi (who is serving as her understudy) takes her out of commission, and becomes the new star of the show. Now on top of the topless world, Nomi learns that the grass isn't always greener.

Berkley does an outstanding job as Nomi. Whether she is performing epileptic lap dances, icing her nipples, or savagely beating a man half to death, Berkley lends a certain class and dignity to every scene. She has come a long way from her days as Jessie Spano on the hit television series Saved By The Bell. Though I initially had wished that her SBTB co-star Tiffani Amber Thiessen had been offered the role in Showgirls, in reality my heart probably couldn't have taken it.

Though the film for some unknown reason did not fare well at the box office, it has gone on to have a long lasting second life. It earned over $100 million dollars on home video - a total that will continue to grow thanks to the recently released 15th Anniversary "Sinsational Edition" two-disc dual-format Blu-ray/DVD edition. Also, fans flock to midnight screenings of the film, the same way they do for another cult classic, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

If you have not had the distinct pleasure to watch Showgirls, you must immediately remedy the situation. Showgirls manages to successfully capture the majesty and decadence of attending a live strip show. It may have gotten some flak for its controversial sexual content, but I'm here to tell you that the nude undulating is never done in an inappropriate manner. Amazing performances both clothed and in the buff make Showgirls a film for the ages.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars