:::braces self for onslaught of Verhoeven defenders:::
I watched Basic Instinct when it first came out. I was deep into a PC thing then, very Queer Nation and all that, and I wrote a review for the local leftie rag. I totally trashed the movie, blasting everything from the performances to the politics.
Recently I watched Showgirls and was almost thoroughly unimpressed, as I pointed out in this thread. I did reconsider based on some comments there and some rethinking and did slightly upgrade my opinion. Not too long after that I watched Starship Troopers and really liked it, and I read a chapter on BI in Dennis Hensley’s book Screening Party (hilarious book BTW, highly recommended), so I was willing to give BI another chance. BI was on the other night and, with nothing better on, I watched it.
Oh my lord, it was every bit as bad as I remember it. The plot is completely ridiculous, requiring Catherine to have set up Beth as a patsy a decade earlier. The performances are for the most part laughable, there’s zero chemistry between Nick and Catherine and the sexual and queer politics suck.
I’ll shut up now and let the apologists sharpen their claws on the OP…
