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Showgirls

Play trailer Poster for Showgirls NC-17 Now Playing 2h 11m Drama LGBTQ+ Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
23% Tomatometer 79 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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Showgirls

What to Know

Critics Consensus

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

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Critics Reviews

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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 Full Review 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 Full Review Mike Floyd Detroit Free Press Dirty, crude, often tasteless and at times downright nasty, Showgirls is also a gripping and uncompromising look behind the Vegas glitz. Rated: 2/4 Mar 27, 2024 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Ari V Liked it as a teen quite a bit. Expected to be embarassed by it given its cult notoriety, but after enjoying my recent Flesh+Blood rewarch, decided to give it a whirl. And wouldn't you know it. Silly and over the top as it often is, the thing just works. Underneath it all, its way smarter and more real that it made any sense whatsoever to expect. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/22/25 Full Review Scotty H I skipped it when it was first released because of the savage reviews, then I read Quentin Tarantino loved it. It's an amazing movie with an incredible female lead part. Coming of age films (or people in their 20's), when done well, are some of my favorites. Elizabeth Berkley is perfect, all the girls look great and are real. The music/dance sequences are strong, this movie reminded me of Saturday Night Fever set in the 90's with a female lead. One of the best musical/dance films I've ever seen, ranking with Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and West Side Story. I would rank this in the top 50 films I've ever seen. Powerful and honest. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/15/25 Full Review Insomniac X Campy, crass big-budget exploitation flick. Verhoeven brings his caustic satirical sensibilities to the sleazy setting -- beneath the lurid excess is a sharp critique of an entertainment industry that cyclically exploits and discards its young talent. Unfortunately, the film stumbles badly in the way it handles the darker material in the final act, causing it to end on a sour note. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/10/25 Full Review Michael S Love it or hate it.. it’s a cult classic. Elizabeth Berkeley looks FANTASTIC! Love this movie for what it is!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/19/25 Full Review thiago s Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, o filme tem praticamente cenas de stripers brigando, dançando e falando tudo isso com os peitos de fora, e ficou uma cenas que era ou de sexualidade ou briga, a história é mais ou menos, e os personagens são fracos, o que praticamente salvou o filme de ser ruim, foi as stripers que deram um sexualidade para o filme. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/08/25 Full Review Rich J I think 3 is a little high but 2.5 a little low, so 2.75 is about right. This could have been a very good expose about the sordid backstory but IMHO went for shock with nudity and near nudity instead. Elizabeth Berkley deserved a better movie than this. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Showgirls

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Movie Info

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
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., United Artists
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