Las Vegas is many things—an icon, adult playground, neon-lit escape hatch. For decades, it has stood as the gleaming epicenter of what happens when fun and pleasure become an economic engine and a profitable business model.

Las Vegas is many things—an icon, adult playground, neon-lit escape hatch. For decades, it has stood as the gleaming epicenter of what happens when fun and pleasure become an economic engine and a profitable business model.

SHOWGIRLS IS BAD. This is close to a universally accepted truth. A lot has been written about how and why Paul Verhoeven’s 1995 stripper saga is bad. Some say it’s simply astoundingly bad; some argue its badness is a species of exotic camp worthy of cult-movie status; others make the case that the film is a satire whose badness is part of its stinging commentary.