Showgirls

REVIEW
Damned by critics, condemned by conservatives and ignored by the public, this relentlessly bad and wildly camp extravaganza is one of the most cheesily entertaining films to come out of Hollywood since Myra Breckinridge and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. The rags-to-nipple clamps tale (and raunchy update of All About Eve) centers around the tough-talking white trash Nomi (Berkley), a brain-dead bleached blonde Barbie doll who is lured to the bright lights, fast living and tacky lifestyle of Las Vegas, home of high rollers and the $1.49 strawberry shortcake. Blessed with spunk, a curvacious body and piston-gyrating hips, Nomi -- beginning at a sleazy lap dance dive -- steadily claws up the greased pole of success, going from trailer trash tramp to glittery star. Along this road kill of broken dreams, Nomi finds herself the object of interest from Crystal (Gershon), the coke-sniffing, leering star/slut of the Vegas strip who happily wallows in her own hedonism. But Nomi sets her sights on Zack (MacLachlan in a look and hair-do that suggests he's auditioning for the next Adolf Hitler bio), Crystal's boyfriend. Hearing lines like, "It must be weird not having anyone coming on you," Nomi knows she's made it to the top. And what about some of the $40 million budget of Showgirls? $12.00 -- Acting Classes $150.00 -- Various leather accessories $15,000 -- Jewelry (check made out to K-Mart) $50,000 -- Research (paid in quarters) $100,000 -- Bikini wax kits $1,000,000 -- Dr. Rabinowitz ("Implanter of the Stars") $5,000,000 -- Cheese $15,000,000 -- Coke