Showgirls isn't a good drama, a good thriller, or even good pornography. It's hard to imagine that the picture will appeal to anyone, and unclear whether there's any future for the NC-17 rating if Showgirls rightfully bombs at the box office. Saved by the Bell actress Elizabeth Berkley has the lead role, and her lack of feature experience shows. She was obviously chosen more for what she would show than for acting ability. Verhoeven has never been a subtle director, and his fixation with naked body parts makes one wonder if he might not have potential as a hard-core director.
Showgirls is a cold, soulless, misogynistic motion picture.
There isn't anything to like about the thinly-drawn, stereotyped characters, and the situations they drift through are far from engrossing. Artistic integrity, intelligent scripting, heart-felt acting, and sincere film making are all absent. Even before she gets her first job, though, she learns that sex and drugs are the only currency anyone really uses. But she's a tough woman with a killer body and an ugly past, and she knows what has to be done to make headway. She starts working as a lap dancer at a strip club, but has her sights set higher.