Lashing Out

Success has a million parents: failure dies an orphan:

Paul Verhoeven, director of the first "Basic Instinct" (which scored $353 million worldwide) as well as the widely ridiculed "Showgirls" (now regarded as something of a camp classic), attributes the genre's demise to the current American political climate.

"Anything that is erotic has been banned in the United States," said the Dutch native. "Look at the people at the top (of the government). We are living under a government that is constantly hammering out Christian values. And Christianity and sex have never been good friends."

I haven't seen this movie, and I don't really want to, but I suspect it's a 'been there-done that' mentality. After all, what would it be about, that wasn't already done in the first version?

Strangely enough, in these 'American Idol' days, a reprise of "Showgirls," perhaps done from a different perspective, or with a varied story line, might do pretty well. I never understood what doomed the first version - the overacting didn't help, of course, and the trite story line, but it was done in such an overwrought manner that it couldn't help but find favor with someone. Nevertheless, Elizabeth Barkley's career was nearly destroyed by her starring role, just when it should have taken off. People sure are strange and fickle!