Showgirls
Directed by Paul Verhoeven
- drama
The story
Fresh to Las Vegas with no connections, Nomi Malone takes a job as an exotic dancer. Her talents are quickly noticed by Cristal, a headlining dancer who senses an opportunity to bolster her own act. But Nomi won’t play second fiddle and soon begins her venomous path to the top, ruthlessly backstabbing anyone who gets in her way.
What it’s like
Saturated neon pinks, electric blues and gold glitter wash over every frame, with the Las Vegas strip rendered as a dazzling, slightly sleazy blur of lights and chrome. The camera lingers on bodies in glossy, hard-edged compositions, and the stage numbers pulse with thumping club bass and synth-pop beats that bleed into the casino's constant clatter. The mood is brash, campy and feverish, closer to a lurid fever dream than to naturalism, with a ruthless, competitive undertow running through the glamour. Its intensity is high: nudity and explicit simulated sex throughout, a sexual assault, and sudden bursts of brutal violence, all delivered with a heavy hand. Expect a glitzy, overheated pace that swings between dance spectacle and cruel backroom drama. It suits a late-night camp rewatch with friends or a curious viewer drawn to trashy excess and satire of ambition, but it is no fit for anyone wanting gentleness or restraint.
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