Showgirl Murders (1996)


Even if you are a fan of Maria Ford, it would be difficult to enjoy this movie. The story is incredibly stupid, the characters are even worse, and even the antics of Maria become annoying after a time, with the relatively short  running time of 82 minutes seeming a torture.So to begin, the plot is about a seductive and mysterious woman Jessica Cross( obviously portrayed by Ford) who is apparently on the run after having fleeced her gangster boyfriend of his money and having left him for dead. She enters the lives of Mitch and Carolyn Goodman, a couple who own and run a nightclub which is almost out of  business. She convinces Mitch to take her in and allow him to manage the club, even though his wife has her doubts as to the motive of Jessica. As it turns out, Jessica is an angel in 'disguise' for she helps the Goodman couple to rake in substantial money by turning the club to a strip joint. Soon, the club starts teeming with people eager for a glimpse of the beautiful Jessica parading semi-naked on the makeshift stage created within the club premises. What follows is a series of unnecessary scenes showing Jessica in her striptease 'act'. However, these scenes establish an important fact, that Mitch has become deeply enamored of Jessica and increasingly distant from his depressive, nagging wife ( it is revealed that Carolyn, the wife, has insomnia and drinking problems because she has caused the accident of a young child some years earlier). It does not prove difficult for Jessica to completely captivate and bring Mitch under her control, and then she incites him to murder his wife so that the two can be happy together in their new-found love. The first try fails due to Mitch's weakness ( call it his humane nature), but in the second attempt, things go according to plan and Carolyn is killed by Mitch with some help from Jessica. Next, the police come questioning about the murder and probe links of Jessica with the gangster who' was' her boyfriend. Mitch becomes disturbed that Jessica has hidden her past from him and shows his suspicion towards her, however she manages to convince him that she had a troubled past and that she loves him.
 Mitch and Jessica marry, and the money they made earlier has been invested as insurance for the club, in the name of Mitch. Then comes the 'dead' ex-boyfriend of Jessica, and it turns out that he and Jessica have conspired to trap poor Mitch and kill him later after taking his money. After this, things are simple. Mitch is killed when Jessica and her boyfriend set fire to the club,and then Jessica claims the club insurance money to emerge rich. Though the police investigating the murder of Carolyn and the 'accidental' death of Mitch is doubtful of Jessica, he has no evidence and has to let the matter drop. Towards the end, Jessica again shows her duplicitous nature when she shoots the boyfriend dead in a remote place. The reason is simple- she has no wish to share the money with him. The last scene shows Jessica in an exotic island setting, enjoying her new found independence and importantly, richness. This scene was reminiscent of the end moment of "Body Heat" where a similarly treacherous wife is seen celebrating after having betrayed two men, although the plot and characterization of "body Heat" come nowhere close to the mess that is "Showgirl Murders". And by the way, if you are expecting a movie with murders of striptease performers in the line of "Stripped to Kill", as the title suggests, then you would be sorely disappointed.

For fans of Maria Ford, I suggest that you stay away from this stinker, and instead watch the brilliantly entertaining " Angel of Destruction(1994)" or the sensible "Naked Obsession(1991)" .