SHOWGIRLS

Ten years after its much-hyped, highly debated and abbreviated theatrical release, SHOWGIRLS continues to cling to the local video store shelf…and why not? A mere three or four dollars will transform the family Sony Trinitron into your very own “boob tube” assuming, of course, the little lady of the house isn't around.

Previous reviews have been decidedly mixed. USA Today simply stated, “It's a hoot with hooters!” But as the head of the Stardust Review (Alan Rachins, of “L.A. Law” fame in a wonderfully wicked role) tells one of the tryouts, “This is a stage, not a patch. Get those watermelons outta' here!” Yes, physical perfection prevails, and SHOWGIRLS is a visually stunning extravaganza oozing more gyrations than an aspen leaf in a wind tunnel.

Elizabeth Barkley delivers a remarkably uninhibited performance as Nomi Malone, a hitchhiker with a jaded past who arrives in Las Vegas seeking fame and fortune as a dancer. Her raw sexuality is first featured in a sizzling dance number with a decidedly lucky chrome pole. What this sex kitten could do with the bumper of '58 Buick leaves the mind numbed. And this is just the beginning

Director Paul Verhoeven (ROBO COP, TOTAL RECALL and BASIC INSTINCT—also penned by Eszterhas) choreographs the most audacious aquatic sex scene ever. Nomi's in-the-pool thrashings to impress Stardust Hotel owner Zach Carey are even more frenetic than a hooked mackerel, and as soon as Zach (played by Kyle MacLachlan and best known for a different set of “Twin Peaks”) recuperates, he elevates Nomi to near headliner status.

From here the plot (as bare as it is) focuses on Nomi's struggles with the long-standing “Goddess” of dancers, played by Gina Gershon, for top billing. Make no mistake about it, SHOWGIRLS has a pathetically weak plot; screenwriter Joe Eszterhas simply recycles his FLASHDANCE script into what could have been retitled FLESHDANCE. Character development and motivation are predictable at best as the actors bare everything but their souls. And a gratuitous gang rape toward the end of the film is unnecessary and virtually unconscionable.

Dare I say SHOWGIRLS delivers a moral? Or is it simply amoral? Take a ride on the wild side and decide for yourself.