Let me give you a scenario. There's this '90s film directed by Paul Verhoeven that got written off by the critics as tacky and cheesy because they were only looking at it on a surface level. However, anyone who digs a little deeper will realise that while there is a lot of cheese involved, the movie also has a lot of valid social commentary.
When you say that, most people will immediately think of Starship Troopers, and they're right to think that. It also applies to Showgirls, though. The movie also contains a lot of commentary about how sex work ends up being destructive for everyone involved, both because of sleazy management and because the kind of people who are drawn to it often aren't the most stable people.
This ends up being one of the big reasons why despite all the sex and nudity, Showgirls isn't really a sexy movie. A lot of the sexual elements get tied up in conflicts over whether or not this act is really consensual in these circumstances, or if the character would have consented if they'd have known what comes next.
I think there's also commentary on what the American dream is like. While most other "character sets off to achieve the American dream" movies will feature a character that's particularly talented or has particularly good business skills, Nomi isn't really like that. She isn't presented as particularly intelligent or talented, and mostly gets ahead by sleeping her way up (or occasionally nudging someone else down the stairs). Some would argue this is a more accurate presentation of how the American dream is achieved.
So not only is Showgirls good, it's deeply frustrating to see that it's been saddled with a negative reputation. It's about time for a popular reevaluation of this movie's merits, similar to what happened to Starship Troopers.
When you say that, most people will immediately think of Starship Troopers, and they're right to think that. It also applies to Showgirls, though. The movie also contains a lot of commentary about how sex work ends up being destructive for everyone involved, both because of sleazy management and because the kind of people who are drawn to it often aren't the most stable people.
This ends up being one of the big reasons why despite all the sex and nudity, Showgirls isn't really a sexy movie. A lot of the sexual elements get tied up in conflicts over whether or not this act is really consensual in these circumstances, or if the character would have consented if they'd have known what comes next.
I think there's also commentary on what the American dream is like. While most other "character sets off to achieve the American dream" movies will feature a character that's particularly talented or has particularly good business skills, Nomi isn't really like that. She isn't presented as particularly intelligent or talented, and mostly gets ahead by sleeping her way up (or occasionally nudging someone else down the stairs). Some would argue this is a more accurate presentation of how the American dream is achieved.
So not only is Showgirls good, it's deeply frustrating to see that it's been saddled with a negative reputation. It's about time for a popular reevaluation of this movie's merits, similar to what happened to Starship Troopers.