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What the Hell Happened to Elizabeth Berkley?

posted 10 years ago by TMC-4
9 replies | jump to latest

http://lebeauleblog.com/2015/01/30/what-the-hell-happened-to-elizabeth -berkley/

In the early 90’s, Elizabeth Berkley was a rising star. After several years on television, she was ready to make the leap to the big screen. Showgirls was a huge opportunity. The script was written by one of the most successful screenwriters in Hollywood and the director was A-list. The last time Paul Verhoven and Joe Eszterhas collaborated, they made a star. But this time, things worked out differently. Instead of becoming an A-list actress, Berkley’s movie career went down in flames.

What the hell happened?

[–] Naughty-God 9 years ago

She was to those who worshiped her, outside of that Showgirls was laughed at by the critics, mostly ignored by movie goers and quickly exited theaters. I too remember the "hype" as it was being touted as the next "Basic Instinct" but I also remember the production woes and negative test audience responses (I was one of them when I saw a preview in Burbank).

Elizabeth just never jelled with a majority of movie goers and it reflected in her movie career. It happens to hundreds of other actresses so it's not unique to her.

I will say this though, her FAILURE to reach stardom sure gets more attention than many others and it always comes back to Showgirls. Why? I don't know because her role in the movie didn't resonate enough for me to feel disappointed in her performance or angry at the lack of appreciation of her portrayal. I felt nothing with her. I guess that's a reflection of most movie goers?