Movie: Showgirls (1995)

This is how swamped I am with work. It’s International Showgirls Appreciation Day and I’m too busy to weigh in on the subject.

Which is too bad, because I had a dilly of a post planned. I was going to start by saying that of course Paul Verhoeven set out to make just this kind of movie. Why else would he direct the supporting cast (Gina Gershon, Kyle MacLachlan) to give campy, knowing performances while insisting that star Elizabeth Berkley play it deadly straight? I would then segue into my controversial belief that Ms. Berkley’s work as a sociopath rebelling against an uncaring patriarchy can only be compared to Maria Falconetti in Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc. Finally, I would declare my admiration for screenwriter Joe Eszterhas and recount the complicated tale of how he left a message on my voicemail last year that I’m still trying to convert into my computer’s start-up sound.

But sadly, I don’t have time. Instead, all I can do is point you toward some good people who are marking the occasion, and say that I’m more of a Jade man anyway.

Miscellaneous: And Another Thing ...

So we’re heading into a three-day weekend, and according to Seattle Weekly none of the outstanding year-end releases – like Match Point and The New World – will be opening here on Friday. What gives? It’s not like I live in the sticks. Seattle is one of the most movie-mad cities in the United States. The Golden Globes are on Monday, for Christ’s sake! Get these movies out there.