Return of the Ghost of the Son of the 31 Days of Cheese - Day 27 - Showgirls.

Just about the most unpleasant movie I have ever seen.

Taking the basic plot of “A Star is Born.” Or probably more accurately “All About Eve” this films puts that rise of the hot youngster on the make as opposed to the queen of the hill at the moment into the world of  Los Vegas dance shows or something.

It’s the story of Nomi Malone who comes to Vegas – is pretty quickly ripped off of all her things – is rescued by the one decent human being in the movie – who then launches upon her drive to become the top Vegas dancer.

That this is treated as a real thing something that people would want to be is one of the more puzzling aspects of the film.

There is a lot of nudity here – but it’s about as erotic as a seed catalog after a while. And since you really don’t much care for anybody who is one the screen at any given time- especially the lead character – the whole experience was very painful to watch. I felt the need to take a shower right after I’d seen the film – and if possible crack open my skill and get some soap on my brain as well.

Nomi gets the attention of several people – included the current queen of Vegas Dancers played with at least the proper style Gina Gershon – there is also bit of bisexual sleaze tossed in because the screenwriter is a sleaze bag who for a while was getting huge sums to write things like this. One hopes he invested well.  And also of Kyle MacLachlan, who looks stoned – as in really stoned the entire time he’s on camera. I think that was because he was stoned. Hell if I found myself inside this train wreck of a film I’d get stoned too.

One of the problems here is that simply put Nomi isn’t someone you want to spend a lot time with –she’s unpleasant, self centered and just whiny as hell to boot.  You can’t expect audiences to follow someone like that about unless there are some redeeming qualities – sense of humor or just larger than life charm that Nomi does not show.

A lot of people get injured as the film goes on including the queen of the Vegas stage that Nomi pushes down a flight of stairs - - someone else gets the same treatment as well –  the insurance rates for that place must be awful – ‘did you think maybe not having a narrow two story staircase to the stage might help with the injuries?”

As noted there is a lot of nudity and sexual posing . And things that were done on purpose to be disgusting.  As in if you’re making out with a woman and she says she’s having  her period. You don’t check. Seriously.

The dances are filmed so poorly that you never really get a sense of what is going on which is weird as folks have been filming dance numbers in Hollywood since the beginning of time so you’d think they’d be a bit better at it but no.

There is also a love between Nomi and Kyle that reminded one more of dolphins than anything even vaguely erotic.

There is also the sense that there is some sort of message being given here some sort of morality tale but other than the usual ‘don’t let you desire for success turn you into something rotten’ which in modern America would get you called a communist.

The truly disturbing part of the film is where the one decent human (Holly the woman who took Nomi in)  being in the entire film is brutally raped by some Vegas guy -  Nomi does avenge this but the point seems missing. Holly is in a coma. How is beating the living shit out the man who raped her going to help? And then Nomi leave town – wiser? We don’t think so and she has abandoned her friend who’s still in the hospital.

This film wrecked a few careers and it should have .  just horrible all around.

Enjoy with Valium.