Showgirls

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Showgirls

NC-17

Released Sep 22, 1995

2h 11m

Drama

LGBTQ+

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

24%

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80 Reviews

38%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Nomi (Elizabeth Berkley) arrives in Las Vegas with only a suitcase and a dream of becoming a top showgirl. She quickly befriends Molly (Gina Ravera), who works at the high-profile Stardust Hotel, and lands a job at a seedy strip club. A chance meeting with Cristal (Gina Gershon), the Stardust's marquee dancer, and her powerful boyfriend, Zack (Kyle MacLachlan), brings Nomi one step closer to realizing her dream. But, as she ascends to the top, Nomi begins to wonder if it's all worth it.

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Critics Consensus

Vile, contemptible, garish, and misogynistic -- and that might just be exactly Showgirls' point.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Are we rushing to clothe the naked emperor by contriving emollient or contrarian explanations for all this? Perhaps. It remains weirdly innocent in its absurdity.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 4, 2025

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Judy Gerstel

Toronto Star

The filmmakers rub our noses in the whole sordid sex thing we love to hate and hate to love, no doubt laughing at us the entire time, all the way to the bank.

Rated: 1/5

Mar 27, 2024

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Joe Pollack

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Whatever Eszterhas and director Paul Verhoeven may say about going behind the scenes in Vegas, they have made a film to highlight little more than prurient interest.

Mar 27, 2024

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Sam Moore

Vague Visages

Whether or not anyone thinks that it succeeds as a satire of the male gaze and objectification, it relishes in the trashiness of the surfaces it may or may not want to critique...the camp glory of Showgirls, however, comes from those very surfaces.

Jun 5, 2024

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Gary Wolcott

Tri-City Herald

Really, Paul? Plain and simple. Showgirls is pornography. In his hands, and those of screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, it might be better labeled poor nography.

Rated: 1/5

Mar 29, 2024

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Todd James

Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta)

Clothing is not an option in Showgirls and after about 20 minutes of this slop, you'll be begging for someone to please put something on, take some acting lessons, and try to say one thing intelligent. Showgirls is bad almost beyond belief.

Rated: 0/5

Mar 29, 2024

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Ed .

Darlin' movie. Classy, charming, witty, meaningful, poetic are all words that won't describe Showgirls. If you want quality then watch 12 Angry Men. If you want hysterical camp that is oddly engrossing, enjoyable with repeated viewings, perfect for a watch party, then view Showgirls. You'll learn lessons such as how to pronounce names of designers, how to "thrust it", how not to keep your nails, and how to help your friend exact revenge on celebrity assaulters. Oh and also how to have fun in a swimming pool. Hard to believe this camp crap came out 30 years ago!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/29/25

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Erik S

The moral of Showgirls is “don’t watch Showgirls”.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/28/25

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Garrett P.

Such a weird movie to categorize in my brain…so many things that make this film weird but slightly fun and entertaining. The r-pe scene is incredibly uncomfortable to watch but comes out of nowhere…although you could say that about every scene in this.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/18/25

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Rami A

I have no idea why this was given an NC-17 rating. It's more of an R-rated movie than anything else. A messy R-rated movie.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/16/25

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Ollie W

Ludicrous, ridiculous, stupid, absurd, yet somehow entertaining,

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/13/25

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Stephen C

Success in 2 hours and 11 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $19,300,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Adults only aged 18 and older!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Starring former Saved by the Bell star Elizabeth Berkley!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/24/25

Full Review

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Paul Verhoeven

Director

Elizabeth Berkley Lauren

Nomi Malone

Kyle MacLachlan

Zack Carey

Gina Gershon

Cristal Connors

Glenn Plummer

James Smith

Robert Davi

Al Torres

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74%

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Synopsis

Nomi (Elizabeth Berkley) arrives in Las Vegas with only a suitcase and a dream of becoming a top showgirl. She quickly befriends Molly (Gina Ravera), who works at the high-profile Stardust Hotel, and lands a job at a seedy strip club. A chance meeting with Cristal (Gina Gershon), the Stardust's marquee dancer, and her powerful boyfriend, Zack (Kyle MacLachlan), brings Nomi one step closer to realizing her dream. But, as she ascends to the top, Nomi begins to wonder if it's all worth it.

Director: Paul Verhoeven
Producer: Alan Marshall, Charles Evans
Screenwriter: Joe Eszterhas
Distributor: United Artists, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: United Artists, Chargeurs, Carolco Pictures Inc.
Rating: NC-17
Genre: Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 22, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 25, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $19.3M
Runtime: 2h 11m
Sound Mix: Surround

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