Elizabeth Berkleys performance

I saw it for the first time last night on Netflix. I thought she was terrific. I think some of the vitriol is because her character isn't likable. But that only show's what a good job she did. I was really surprised at how much full frontal nudity she did. Surprised but not complaining LOL.

I think she portrayed the character very well. There were a few rough spots (pretty much any time she pulled out her knife). I think people also have an issue with how Nomi was in denial about who and what she is, and she didn't really grow much by the end of the movie.

I agree with everything you said. She played the character as well as it could have been played, as it was written. It would have been hard for any actress to inhabit a character like that, considering how crazy she acts and how antisocial she is. The marketing of the movie made it seem like "Showgirls" was going to have women in it that would play up to more traditional male fantasies, but instead it is full of female characters who are jaded, have had their dignity stripped away, or behave in a violent and aggressive way. That guy in the truck that picks Nomi up in the beginning is basically the potential straight male audience that "Showgirls" had, he sees a sexy woman hitch hiking, and when he tries to put the moves on her, she pulls out a switchblade and threatens to cut him. So basically she's just alienated every dude in the audience who came to the movie because of the promised nudity and sexual content. The fantasies that "Showgirls" delivers are not sexually appealing, but very cynical and gross, and I don't think Elizabeth Berkley is to blame for that at all. She really put a lot of physicality and dedication into her performance.

I think if "Showgirls" really had been a sexy boob show like people expected, nobody would still be talking about it today, but instead it's something weird and fascinating, and that has a lot to do with Elizabeth's performance, too.

groovydoom.blogspot.com

"...but just bare with me."

Nice pun.

I found it to be a solid performance, and it demanded quite a lot of her too.

I thought she did very well and did not deserve the bashing she got.

I think that considering the material she had to work with she did the best she could. The movie is just over-the-top and just in your face and so is Nomi. Everything about her and the story is very,very exaggerated. I don't see how anybody took any of it seriously. When the movie came out I think people actually thought that the film was supposed to be serious and I don't think it was at all. It dealt with some heavy stuff but in a very exaggerated way. And you can't just blame Berkley. There was a director who was telling her what he wanted to see and how he wanted to see it. I don't care for the movie because of it's over-the-top theatrics but there is ONE scene that I could watch again and again. That's the scene where she kicks the hell out of that rapist. Again the scene is balls-to-the-wall, but it was great to watch her stomp his ass but good.

I thought she was fine- her character was not supposed to be likable and she played that very well. She did the best she could with the way the character was written.

The main issue I think is that she was directed to be over-the-top in her scenes, which many people found comical and awkward. But that is the performance the director instructed her to give, and she followed through. Some of the lines were also kind of comical on their own, but again that's how it was written. It's sad though that her career took such a hit after this- she definitely didn't deserve the amount of flack she got for it. She gave the performance the director wanted- even the director has said so.