Produced on a then-sizable budget of around $45million, significant controversy and hype surrounding the amounts of sex and nudity in the film preceded its theatrical release. In the United States, it was rated NC-17 for "nudity and erotic sexuality throughout, some graphic language, and sexual violence." Showgirls was the first (and to date only) NC-17 film to be given a wide release in mainstream theaters.[5] Distributor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) dispatched several hundred staffers to theaters across North America playing Showgirls to ensure that patrons would not sneak into the theater from other films, and to make sure filmgoers were over the age of 17. Audience restriction due to the NC-17 rating, coupled with poor reviews, resulted in the film becoming a box-office bomb, grossing just $37.8 million against a budget of $45 million.
Despite a negative theatrical and critical consensus, Showgirls enjoyed success on the home video/VHS market, generating more than $100 million from rentals alone, allowing the film to turn a profit.[8][9] Since its video release, Showgirls has gone on to become one of MGM's top twenty all-time bestsellers.[10] For its home video release, Verhoeven prepared an R-rated edition for rental outlets that could not (or would not) carry NC-17 films. The R-rated edit runs about 3 minutes shorter, omitting some footage deemed to be more graphic. This version was later also available on television networks, such as HBO and In Demand (Pay Per View).
Showgirls was universally panned upon its cinematic release, and is still consistently ranked as one of the worst films of all time. Despite this, in the 21st century, it has come to be regarded as a cult film, with a dedicated fanbase; Showgirls has also been subject to critical re-evaluation, with some notable directors and critics considering it a serious satire worthy of praise.[11]
Plot
Young drifter Nomi Malone hitchhikes to Las Vegas, where she aspires to make it as a showgirl. After being robbed by a man who picked her up, Nomi meets Molly Abrams, a young professional in the Las Vegas entertainment industry; Molly ultimately takes Nomi in as a roommate. To make ends meet, Nomi begins poledancing and stripping at Cheetah's Gentleman's Club, run by Al Torres. Molly invites Nomi to visit her at work, backstage at the Stardust Resort and Casino, where she is a seamstress and costume designer for Goddess, the Stardust's traditional Vegas-style, topless dance revue. While there, Nomi meets Cristal Connors, the lead female of the Goddess cast. While making smalltalk, Nomi mentions to Cristal that she dances at Cheetah's; upon hearing this, Cristal derisively tells Nomi that what she does is akin to "prostitution". Upset, Nomi refuses to go to work at Cheetah's that night; she and Molly go dancing at the Crave Club. Nomi then starts a fight with James Smith, a bouncer at Crave, and is subsequently arrested. Later, she pays James little mind when he bails her out of jail.
Cristal and her boyfriend, Zack Carey (the entertainment director at the Stardust Casino), visit Cheetah's to see what Nomi does, with the two requesting a lap dance from her. Although the bisexual Cristal is attracted to her, the lap dance request is based more on a desire to humiliate Nomi, by insinuating that she truly does engage in a form of prostitution. Reluctantly, after Cristal offers her $500, Nomi performs the request lap dance. James, the bouncer at Crave, and who happens to be at Cheetah's that night, gets a peek at Nomi's lap dance; the next day, he visits Nomi's trailer, suggesting, yet again, that what she is doing is no different than prostitution. James choreographs a new dance routine for Nomi, but then wants to have sex with her in-exchange; when Nomi refuses, James gives the role to Penny—a former co-worker of Nomi's.
Later, Cristal arranges for Nomi to audition for the chorus line of Goddess. Tony Moss, the show's director, humiliates Nomi, asking her to rub ice cubes on her nipples to harden them for the topless audition. Furious, Nomi abruptly leaves the audition after scattering ice everywhere, in a fit. Despite her audition, Nomi gets the job and subsequently quits Cheetah's. Cristal then further humiliates Nomi, suggesting that she should make a 'goodwill appearance' at a boat 'trade show', which turns out to be a thinly-disguised prostitution/sex trafficking set-up. The chance to be Cristal's understudy comes up after she hurts herself. Undeterred, Nomi sets out for revenge against Cristal by claiming her role in Goddess. She seduces Cristal's boyfriend, Zack, who then secures an audition for Nomi to be Cristal's understudy. Nomi wins the role, but when Cristal threatens legal action against the Stardust, the offer is rescinded. After Cristal taunts her even more, Nomi snaps, and pushes Cristal down a flight of stairs, causing her to break her hip. Only after the injury is Cristal officially replaced by Nomi as the show's lead. Despite having finally secured the fame she sought, Nomi is disillusioned. She further alienates her roommate and friend Molly, who realizes Nomi caused the hip injury.
Molly later relents, attending Nomi's opening-night celebration at a lavish hotel, where she meets her idol, musician Andrew Carver. Carver lures her to a room, where he brutally beats her before he and his two security-guard friends proceed to gang-rape her to the point of hospitalization. Nomi finds out and immediately wants to call the police. Zack explains that the Stardust will bribe Molly with hush money to protect Carver (one of their star performers), before then explaining about Nomi's 'sordid' past: Zack discovered that "Nomi" was born Polly Ann Costello in San Francisco, from which she ran-away at age 15 to work as a prostitute after her parents' murder–suicide in 1989. After escaping from a foster home in nearby Oakland, California, the following year, Polly changed her name several times. She was also, Zack says, arrested several times, in several states, for various crimes ranging from drug possession and exchanging sex for money to assault with a deadly weapon. Zack blackmails Polly (Nomi), vowing to conceal her past as long as she agrees to not report the rape and assault.
Unable to obtain justice for Molly without exposing her own dubious past, Nomi decides to take matters into her own hands. After brutally attacking Carver alone in his hotel room, Nomi then makes two hospital visits: the first being to inform a semi-conscious, but recovering, Molly that Carver's actions did not go unpunished, and the second, to Cristal, apologizing for pushing her down the stairs and injuring her. As Cristal was not pressing charges against Nomi, and her lawyers had secured her a large cash settlement, she forgives Nomi. Cristal admits that she attempted a similar stunt, years earlier; they exchange a reconciliatory, slightly romantic kiss. Nomi leaves Las Vegas and hitches a ride to Los Angeles, ironically with the same man who previously robbed her on her way to Vegas; she subsequently holds him at knifepoint demanding the return of her suitcase.[12]
Joe Eszterhas came up with the idea for Showgirls while on vacation at his home in Maui, Hawaii. During lunch in Beverly Hills, Paul Verhoeven told Eszterhas that he had always loved "big MGM musicals", and wanted to make one; Eszterhas suggested the setting of Las Vegas.[13] Based on the idea he scribbled on a napkin, Eszterhas was advanced $2million to write the script[14] and picked up an additional $1.7 million when the studio produced it into a film. This, along with the scripts for both Verhoeven's previous film Basic Instinct (1992) and Sliver (1993, also an erotic thriller starring Sharon Stone), made Eszterhas the highest-paid screenwriter in Hollywood history.[15] Because of conflicts with the MPAA over the rating of Basic Instinct, which he made cuts to in order to secure an R rating, Verhoeven planned for Showgirls to be rated NC-17.[9][16] Verhoeven deferred 70% of his $6 million director's fee depending on if the film turned a profit.[13]
At the time the script deal was announced, Eszterhas was quoted as saying the story for the film "begins in the world of erotic dancers, lap dancers, table dancers, strippers and sleaze. It moves into the world of big hotel showgirls, billboards and glamor. It examines the sleaze and glamor and asks the audience at the end to make its own moral conclusions."[17]
Eszterhas completed the script in the later half of 1993.[18] He later said, "I wrote Showgirls at the single most turbulent moment of my life,"[19] referring to the dissolution of his first marriage.[18] "The stuff I've done since then has more warmth, more humor, is more upbeat."[19]
Eszterhas and Verhoeven interviewed over 200 Las Vegas strippers and incorporated parts of their stories into the screenplay to show the amount of exploitation of strippers in Vegas.[13][9]
Prince was reported to be writing songs for the film.[20]
Casting
Before Elizabeth Berkley was cast as Nomi Malone, a long list of actresses were considered for the role, including Pamela Anderson,[21]Drew Barrymore,[21]Angelina Jolie,[21]Vanessa Marcil,[21]Jenny McCarthy,[21]Denise Richards,[21][22]Jennifer Lopez,[23] and Charlize Theron.[24][25] On the role of Nomi, Verhoeven said, "One of the main concerns, next to acting, was the dancing and nudity — both of those elements being extreme. The actress would have to be able to dance. And she also had to be willing to show full-frontal throughout the film. These elements, especially the nudity, are extremely difficult for American actresses to accept. And Elizabeth Berkley was the only actress that combined all three."[9]
Kyle MacLachlan said Dylan McDermott was the first choice for the character of Zack Carey, but he declined and MacLachlan was then cast. MacLachlan recalled: "That was a decision that was sort of a tough one to make, but I was enchanted with Paul Verhoeven. Particularly RoboCop, which I loved ... It was Verhoeven and Eszterhas, and it seemed like it was going to be kind of dark and edgy and disturbing and real."[28]
Filming
Verhoeven asked Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics to not only compose the film's score, but to also write the music for the big Stardust hotel shows. "The idea was to make the same loud, sleazy, bad music that you hear in those Vegas shows, because that's how it actually is," said Verhoeven.[25]
Gina Ravera said the filming of the rape scene was traumatic. "When you do a scene like that, your body doesn't know it's not real," Ravera said of the sequence, which took over nine hours to film.[29]
Music
The soundtrack of the film featured songs specially composed for the film, including an early version of David Bowie's "I'm Afraid of Americans",[30] and a song of Siouxsie and the Banshees' "New Skin" recorded near Prague in June 1995.[27][31] It also includes songs by Killing Joke and Scylla (a then-new band featuring Curve's singer Toni Halliday). The Young Gods' song "Kissing the Sun" only appeared on the US edition of the soundtrack and did not feature on the European and Japanese releases. The soundtrack album was released on September 26, 1995.[32]
"Andrew Carver" (character in film; vocals performed by Buggsy Pearce)
5:37
Marketing
The NC-17 rating limited the film's marketing opportunities in traditional outlets: of the major American broadcast television networks, ABC, CBS, and Fox did not air ads for the film before 10:00 p.m., and many NBC stations did not advertise it at all.[33] As a consequence, MGM/UA largely relied on the controversy over the rating itself to generate audience hype, and mounted a promotional blitz that capitalized on the film's potentially lurid subject matter.[34] Ads bore the tagline "leave your inhibitions at the door."[34] The promotion included billboards in Times Square and Venice Beach, an interactive adults-only website,[35] and circulation of a "sneak preview" videotape at rental stores, which featured eight minutes of explicit footage not shown in theatrical trailers.[34] The studio said they distributed 300,000 preview tapes, though it was not carried in Blockbuster stores, as the preview was also rated NC-17.[36]
Emphasizing the film's sexual content, MGM/UA targeted young men as a key audience, placing ads for the film in the sports sections of newspapers.[33] Eszterhas objected to this tactic, and took out a full-page advertisement in Variety where he insisted the film was a morality tale.[13] The ad said, "The movie shows that dancers in Vegas are often victimized, humiliated, used, verbally and physically raped by the men who are at the power centers of that world."[13][34] Eszterhas, who believed the film's message to be about the moral costs of the pursuit of stardom, urged teens under the age of 17 to sneak into the theater by using fake IDs, prompting censure from MPAA president Jack Valenti.[34]
The film's stark poster was adapted from a photograph by Tono Stano. The photo had originally been featured on the cover of the 1994 book The Body: Photographs of the Human Form.[37]
Release
Box office
The film was released to 1,388 theaters in North America on September 22, 1995.[5][6] Two theater chains in the South, Texas' Cinemark and Georgia's Carmike, declined to screen the film.[38] On its opening weekend, the film made $8,112,627 and opened in the number 2 spot behind Seven.[6][39] In the second week, it slipped to the fifth spot and grosses fell 60%.[39] Its total domestic take was $20,350,754, less than half of its $45 million budget.[6]
While the film's theatrical run was underwhelming and did not recoup its budget, it went on to gross over $100million in the home-video and rentals markets,[40][9] and as of 2014, the film is still one of MGM's highest-selling movies.[40]
To date, Showgirls is the second highest-grossing NC-17 production (after Last Tango in Paris), earning $20,350,754 at the North American box office.[41]
Home media
Showgirls performed much better on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray, becoming one of MGM's top 20 best-sellers, grossing over $100million in the US home media market alone.[9] Though initially reluctant to edit the film for video release, Verhoeven had agreed to recut Showgirls as an R-rated version, which allowed MGM to recoup its budget through video sales and rentals.[42][43] On January 2, 1996, Showgirls was released on VHS in two versions: A director's R-rated version for rental outlets (including Blockbuster and Hollywood Video), and an NC-17-rated version.[44][43] The NC-17 version was also released on LaserDisc that year.[45]
Showgirls was released on DVD for the first time on April 25, 2000.[46] In 2004, MGM released the "V.I.P. Edition" on DVD in a special boxed set containing two shot glasses, movie cards with drinking games on the back, a deck of playing cards, and a nude poster of Berkley with a pair of suction-cup pasties so viewers can play "pin the pasties on the showgirl".[47] In 2007, MGM re-released the V.I.P. Edition DVD without the physical extras, as the "Fully Exposed Edition".[48]
On June 15, 2010, MGM released a 15th Anniversary "Sinsational Edition" in a two-disc dual-format Blu-ray/DVD edition.[49]
In 2016, Showgirls was restored in 4K from the original negative. The image restoration was carried out by the Technicolor laboratory and the sound restoration by the L.E. Diapason laboratory, under the supervision of Paul Verhoeven and Pathé. The restored version was released on Blu-ray following a theatrical run.[11]
The film was released in Germany on Ultra HD Blu-ray by Capelight Pictures in 2020, based on Pathé's restoration, which was noted for having high noise reduction.[50] It was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray in the United States by Vinegar Syndrome in 2023, which received a stronger review for picture quality by High-Def Digest.[51] Vinegar Syndrome launched a disc replacement program shortly after discovering sync issues in the film's 5.1 audio track.[52]
Reception
The film was universally panned on its initial release. Critics bemoaned the film's lack of eroticism and described the film's heavy degree of nudity as exploitative and demeaning to women. In the Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan wrote the film "has somehow managed to make extensive nudity exquisitely boring" and "descends into incoherent tedium."[53] He added, "Though the filmmakers' incessant talk about vision, artistry and honest self-expression lead one to expect a sexually explicit biopic about the Dalai Lama, what is in fact provided is depressing and disappointing as well as dehumanizing."[53]
Richard Corliss of Time wrote, "Eszterhas must be great at pitching stories, because the screenwriting craft eludes him. A mild gag here--the mispronouncing of Gianni Versace's name--is tortured into an endless motif. Nomi has a clouded past, but that doesn't explain why she is such a gratingly annoying creature."[54]Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "The exploitative heart of Showgirls is that Eszterhas and Verhoeven effectively dissolve the line between the way men in the strip world treat women and the way the movie treats them. Most of the male characters are misogynistic louts, and even the few sympathetic ones are borderline ridiculous."[55]
The character of Nomi was widely panned as unsympathetic and "irritating".[53][54][55] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post wrote, "Like the bimbo she plays, Berkley's minimal acting talent limits her choice of roles. That makes the filmmakers little better than the club owners who prostitute their employees. They're selling women's bodies, and 'Showgirls' is an overcoat movie for men who don't want to be seen going into a porno theater."[56]
In a review that awarded the film 2 stars out of 4, Roger Ebert lambasted the film's over-the-top nudity and "juvenile" script, maintaining that the movie "contains no true eroticism".[57] However, he wrote "the production values are first-rate, and the lead performance by newcomer Elizabeth Berkley has a fierce energy that's always interesting."[57] He also found some of the plot lines concerning the backstabbing between the dancers entertaining, saying, "It's trash, yes, but not boring".[57] In a 1998 review, he stated the film received "some bad reviews, but it wasn't completely terrible".[58]
In her review in The New York Times, Janet Maslin wrote, "the strain of trying to make America's dirtiest big-studio movie has led Mr. Verhoeven and Mr. Ezsterhas to create an instant camp classic".[59] Writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, Edward Guthmann noted, "From all the bad press that 'Showgirls' has gotten, you'd think the nation's critics had never witnessed high-gloss trash before. Granted, Paul Verhoeven's tale of a Las Vegas lap dancer is one of Hollywood's all-time stinkers, but it does come from a long and healthy tradition--the trashy, backstage show-biz epic", referring to films like The Oscar and Valley of the Dolls.[60]
Stanley Kauffmann was one of the few critics to give a positive review in The New Republic. He commented, "What matters much more than the story or the Spicy Stuff is the dancing, the show-biz dancing. It's electric. Exciting."[61] Kauffman praised Berkley's performance and commented, "Besides her dancing sizzle, she does what she can with the mechanically viperous character she was given to play. Sarah Bernhardt couldn't have done much more with this robotic part, and couldn't have done the dancing."[61] He also complimented Ravera and Gershon.[61] He concluded the film shows "that: (a) under the glitz, Las Vegas is a tacky, tricky place; and (b) Las Vegas is a microcosm of American values at their shabbiest. If you don't think you can survive the shock of these insights, be warned."[61] In The New Yorker, Anthony Lane said, "Berkley's acting début is a joy, if you can call it acting: she jumps up and down a lot to indicate excitement. Watching this picture is like surfing the soaps for a couple of hours. There's no use being offended, so you might as well have a good laugh."[62]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 23% based on 79 reviews, with an average rating of 3.7/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Vile, contemptible, garish, and misogynistic – and that might just be exactly Showgirls' point."[63]Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 20 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[64] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.[65]
MacLachlan recalled seeing the film for the first time at the premiere:
I was absolutely gobsmacked. I said, "This is horrible. Horrible!" And it's a very slow, sinking feeling when you're watching the movie, and the first scene comes out, and you're like, "Oh, that's a really bad scene." But you say, "Well, that's okay, the next one'll be better." And you somehow try to convince yourself that it's going to get better… and it just gets worse. And I was like, "Wow. That was crazy." I mean, I really didn't see that coming. So at that point, I distanced myself from the movie. Now, of course, it has a whole other life as a sort of inadvertent… satire. No, "satire" isn't the right word. But it's inadvertently funny. So it's found its place. It provides entertainment, though not in the way I think it was originally intended. It was just… maybe the wrong material with the wrong director and the wrong cast.[28][19]
Due to Showgirls' poor reception, Striptease, a 1996 film about nude dancers starring Demi Moore, was distanced from Showgirls in advertisements.[66] Elizabeth Berkley was dropped by her agent Mike Menchel following the film's release. Other agents refused to take her telephone calls.[67][68] In 2013, she also said the film's critical reception made her stop dancing.[69]
In 1997, Eszterhas said:
Clearly we made mistakes. Clearly it was one of the biggest failures of our time. It failed commercially, critically, it failed on videotape, it failed internationally. . . . In retrospect, part of it was that Paul and I were coming off of Basic, which defied the critics and was a huge success. Maybe there was a certain hubris involved: "We can do what we want to do, go as far out there as we want." That rape scene was a god-awful mistake. In retrospect, a terrible mistake. And musically it was eminently forgettable. And in casting mistakes were made.[19]
Showgirls would later win an eighth Razzie Award for Worst Picture of the Last Decade in 2000.[72] It was soon tied with Battlefield Earth for winning the most Razzies in a single year,[73] a record broken in 2008 when I Know Who Killed Me won eight trophies[74] and again in 2012 when Jack and Jill won 10 awards.[75]
At the 1995 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, the film received three nominations: Worst Picture, Worst Actor for MacLachlan, and Worst Actress for Berkley. Of the three, its only win was for Worst Picture.[76]
Showgirls has achieved cult status. According to writer Naomi Klein, ironic enjoyment of the film initially arose among those with the video before MGM capitalized on the idea. MGM noticed the video was performing well because "trendy twenty-somethings were throwing Showgirls irony parties, laughing sardonically at the implausibly poor screenplay and shrieking with horror at the aerobic sexual encounters".[77] The film was heavily embraced by the LGBT community, who would host midnight movie-type screenings that became an ongoing tradition.[78][46][79] Movie screenings and viewing parties were hosted by performers such as Betty Buckley,[78]Peaches Christ,[80] and David Schmader.[81][79] The screenings were akin to midnight shows of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with audiences being given instructions to interact or sing along with scenes.[78][82] To coincide with the film's video release and its popularity in the gay community, MGM recruited drag performers to host midnight screenings in New York City in 1996, and later held screenings in Los Angeles.[78] Home video rentals would go on to generate more than $100million,[9][40] making Showgirls one of MGM's top 20 all-time bestsellers.[10]
Verhoeven accepted the film's unexpected cult status, saying "Maybe this kind of ritualistic cult popularity isn't what I intended, but it's like a resurrection after the crucifixion."[82] Eszterhas, however, maintains that the humor was intentional: "What Paul [Verhoeven] and I had in mind was something darkly funny. We went through the script line by line, and we were really laughing at some of it. I defy people to tell me that a line like, 'How does it feel not to have anybody coming on you anymore' isn't meant to be funny."[15]
In Ireland, the film was banned on November 8, 1995. The Irish Film Censor Board chair Sheamus Smith provided no explanation for the ban, but it had been speculated that the ban was owed to the film's rape scene. In fact, Smith banned the film upon initial release because of the line, "I got bigger tits than the fuckin' Virgin Mary and I got a bigger mouth, too." Smith's objection was specifically to the diction "fuckin' Virgin Mary".[88][89][90][91] The film was passed uncut for its video release on October 23, 2017.[92]
The rights to show the film on television were eventually purchased by the VH1 network. Because of the film's frequent nudity, though, a censored version was created with black bras and panties digitally rendered to hide all exposed breasts and genitalia. Also, several scenes were removed entirely, shortening the movie by at least 45 minutes. Berkley refused to redub her lines because MGM refused to pay her fee of $250,[26] so a noticeably different actress's voice can be heard on the soundtrack.[93]
In 2003, the film was ranked number 36 on Entertainment Weekly's 'The Top 50 Cult Movies' list.[94]
The film was mentioned a few times on hit network TV shows in the late 1990s, with a mix of affection and sarcasm. On NBC's NewsRadio, a running joke where billionaire WNYX owner Jimmy James has a running list of potential wives made a reference to Showgirls when James is asked by station manager Dave Nelson about the wives' list. James then says it is one number shorter than previously noted because "You know that nice girl who was on Saved by the Bell? She went and made a dirty movie!"[95] In a Season 11 episode of The Simpsons, Homer and Marge go out on a date night to see the film after Bart becomes well-behaved from taking Focusyn. The scene playing was a fictional scene where a redheaded man tells Nomi that she's wasting her talent as a showgirl, with Nomi snapping, "Screw you! Screw everybody!" and takes her top off when the stage manager calls for showtime. Marge also comments that she enjoys the friendship between "showgirl [Nomi] and that seamstress [Molly]".[96]
Australian rapper Iggy Azalea paid homage to the film in the music video for her 2013 song "Change Your Life" featuring T.I. Many visuals and costumes were recreated or inspired by the film, including the Cheetah's club setting.[97]
In 2019, You Don't Nomi, a documentary re-examining the film's legacy, was released.[46]
On March 20, 2024, the Academy Museum held a screening of Showgirls in Los Angeles, with an introduction by Berkley who received three standing ovations by the sold out audience.[98]
Critical re-evaluation
Critics such as Jonathan Rosenbaum and J. Hoberman,[99] as well as filmmakers Jim Jarmusch,[100]Adam McKay[101] and Jacques Rivette,[102] have gone on the record defending Showgirls as a serious satire.[103] In a 1998 interview, Rivette called it "one of the great American films of the last few years", though "very unpleasant: it's about surviving in a world populated by assholes, and that's Verhoeven's philosophy".[102]Quentin Tarantino has stated that he enjoyed Showgirls, referring to it in 1996 as the "only ... other time in the last twenty years [that] a major studio made a full-on, gigantic, big-budget exploitation movie", comparing it to Mandingo.[104]
Showgirls has been compared to the 1950 film All About Eve as a remake, update, or rip-off of that film.[105][106] For Rosenbaum, "Showgirls has to be one of the most vitriolic allegories about Hollywood and selling out ever made".[100] "Verhoeven may be the bravest and most assured satirist in Hollywood, insofar as he succeeds in making big genre movies no one knows whether to take seriously or not", wrote Michael Atkinson.[107]
In Slant's four-out-of-four-star review, Eric Henderson rejected the "so-bad-it's-good" interpretation and lauds the film as "one of the most honest satires of recent years", stating that the film targets Hollywood's "morally bankrupt star-is-born tales."[108] Henderson drew from a 2003 round-table discussion in Film Quarterly in which others argued its merits. Noël Burch attests that the film "takes mass culture seriously, as a site of both fascination and struggle" and uses melodrama as "an excellent vehicle for social criticism."[109] In the same round-table, Chon Noriega suggests that the film has been misinterpreted and the satire overlooked because "the film lacks the usual coordinates and signposts for a critique of human vice and folly provided by sarcasm, irony, and caustic wit."[110]
Berkley's performance, which was heavily criticized as out of sync with the rest of the film's tone, was also reappraised.[46][111] In 2015, Verhoeven said Berkley had unfairly taken on the bulk of criticism against the film and claimed responsibility for her performance.[25][67] "Good or not good, I was the one who asked her to exaggerate everything — every move — because that was the element of style that I thought would work for the movie," he said.[9] In 2020, Hugh Montgomery of the BBC described Berkley's portrayal as "the definition of a star turn: absolutely singular, and charged with a haywire electricity", adding, "It benefits from the meta-authenticity that comes from a young entertainer pulling out all the stops for her shot at the big time, playing a young entertainer pulling out all the stops for her shot at the big time. But above and beyond that, it is an exhilaratingly surreal and abrasive performance, in which gestures and expressions are exaggerated to an inhuman level".[46] Critic Catherine Bray said, "You can't criticise the performance for not being realistic. That's like looking at an Andy Warhol and going 'well those colours aren't true to life. It's a pop-art caricature'".[46]
The violence of the gang rape scene has generated criticism and debate, with some describing it as being in poor taste and unnecessarily brutal because it happens to the film's prominent woman of color and serves mainly as a catalyst for Nomi's moral arc.[46][79][108][29][112] Jeffrey McHale, the director of You Don't Nomi, opined, "It's completely offensive. I think it's not really necessary… [Verhoeven] used Molly's brutalisation as a way for Nomi to find herself and I think that's disgusting."[46]
The film continues to generate critical discussion about its themes and commentary on patriarchal culture,[113][46] the American dream,[111][109] and the nature of sex work,[113][114] with some contending that the film's many exaggerated aspects—its gaudy dance numbers,[111] excessive nudity, laughable dialogue, and over-the-top acting—are all deliberately part of the film's intent.[108][87][115][116] In 2020, The Guardian commented: "With Showgirls, the target was the American dream itself – and the dishonest 'star is born' narratives churned out to sustain it."[117]
Legacy
Sequel
Verhoeven said a sequel had been in development before Showgirls was released, with the film's final scene of a sign for Los Angeles hinting at a plot where Nomi takes on Hollywood.[24] However, these plans were dropped when the film did poorly at the box office.[24]
In 2013, an off-off-Broadway parody called Showgirls! The Musical was mounted by Bob and Tobly McSmith of Medium Face Productions.[118] Originating at the Kraine Theater in New York City,[119] critical and audience response was overwhelmingly positive. It was moved to a 200-seat off-Broadway theater, XL Nightclub.[118] The production continued to be successful; its original run was extended through July 15, 2013. Actress Rena Riffel reprised her role in the film as Penny for one month of the production.[120]
The musical closely mimics the film's plot and often directly incorporates dialog. The original off-Broadway production was critically lauded for April Kidwell's performance as Nomi and for staying true to the source's campy nature.[121] Andy Webster of The New York Times stated: "The coltish April Kidwell, as Nomi, is a wonder. Amid an exhausting onslaught of often obvious ribaldry, she is tireless, fearless, and performing circles around Elizabeth Berkley's portrayal in the movie. Her vibrant physicality and knowing humor are a potent riposte to the story's rabid misogyny."[122]
It takes several characters and condenses them for the stage. The characters of Marty and Gaye have been combined to one character, simply called 'Gay'. The characters of Molly and James are both portrayed by actor Marcus Deison. Zack Carey is simply called Kyle MacLachlan.[122] With sexually explicit language and nudity throughout, the tagline is "Singing. Dancing. Tits".
The original cast featured Kidwell as Nomi, Rori Nogee as Cristal, John E. Elliott as Kyle McLachlan, Marcus Deison as Molly and James, Philip McLeod as Gay and Amanda Nicholas, Natalie Wagner and Israel Vinas as the ensemble.[123]
Original cast recording
On June 11, 2013, a cast recording was released with eight tracks.[123]
Kyle Merritt MacLachlan is an American actor best known for his Emmy nominated and Golden Globe winning role as Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks and its film prequel Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). He is also known for his roles in another two of Twin Peaks co-creator David Lynch's films: Paul Atreides in Dune (1984) and Jeffrey Beaumont in Blue Velvet (1986). MacLachlan's other film roles include Lloyd Gallagher in The Hidden (1987), Ray Manzarek in The Doors (1991), Cliff Vandercave in The Flintstones (1994), Zack Carey in Showgirls (1995) and Riley's father in the Inside Out film series.
Paul Verhoeven is a Dutch film director. His films are known for their graphic violence and sexual content, combined with social satire. After receiving attention for the TV series Floris in his native Netherlands, Verhoeven's breakthrough film was the romantic drama Turkish Delight (1973), starring frequent collaborator Rutger Hauer. Verhoeven later directed successful Dutch films including the period drama Keetje Tippel (1975), the war film Soldier of Orange (1977), the teen drama Spetters (1980) and the psychological thriller The Fourth Man (1983).
Elizabeth Berkley is an American actress and producer. She played Jessie Spano in the Saved by the Bell television franchise and Nomi Malone in the 1995 Paul Verhoeven controversial film Showgirls. She had supporting roles in the box office hits The First Wives Club and Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday, as well as in Woody Allen's period comedy The Curse of the Jade Scorpion and Dylan Kidd's critically acclaimed Roger Dodger.
Bo Derek is an American actress. She began her career as a child model before deciding to pursue acting on the advice of a talent agent she met through actress Ann-Margret, who was acquainted with her parents. In 1972, she was cast in the romantic drama film Once Upon a Love (1973), which was directed by her first husband John Derek and eventually released as Fantasies in 1981. Her breakthrough performance came in the romantic comedy film 10 (1979), which cemented her status as a sex icon and mainstream celebrity. The role earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination for New Star of the Year – Actress.
Basic Instinct is a 1992 neo-noir erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. Starring Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Wayne Knight, the film follows San Francisco police detective Nick Curran (Douglas) as he investigates the brutal murder of a wealthy rock star. During the course of the investigation, Curran becomes entangled in a passionate and intense relationship with Catherine Tramell (Stone), an enigmatic writer and the prime suspect.
The 16th Golden Raspberry Awards were held on March 24, 1996, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to recognize the worst the movie industry had to offer in 1995. For the first time in Razzie history, an actual "winner" showed up to the ceremony and accepted his award: Showgirls director Paul Verhoeven.
Cyd Charisse was an American dancer and actress.
Cassandra Gay Peterson is an American actress best known for her portrayal of the horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Peterson gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ-TV in her stage persona as Elvira, hosting Elvira's Movie Macabre, a weekly B movie presentation. A member of the Los Angeles-based improvisational and sketch comedy troupe The Groundlings, Peterson based her Elvira persona in part on a "Valley girl"-type character she created while a member of the troupe.
József Antal Eszterhás, credited as Joe Eszterhas, is a Hungarian-American writer. Born in Hungary, he grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. After an early career as a journalist and editor, he entered the film industry. His first screenwriting credit was for the film F.I.S.T. (1978). He co-wrote the script for Flashdance, which became one of the highest-grossing films of 1983, and set off a lucrative and prolific run for his career. By the early 1990s, he was known as the highest-paid writer in Hollywood, and noted for his work in the erotic thriller genre. He was paid a then-record $3 million for his script Love Hurts, which was produced as Basic Instinct (1992), and following its success, news outlets reported he earned seven-figure salaries solely on the basis of two-to-four page outlines.
Viva Las Vegas is a 1964 American rock and roll musical film directed by George Sidney, written by Sally Benson, choreographed by David Winters, and starring Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova, William Demarest and Nicky Blair. Set in Las Vegas, Nevada, the film is about two competing race car drivers who also compete for the same girl.
A showgirl is a female performer in a theatrical revue who wears an exotic and revealing costume and in some shows may appear topless. Showgirls are usually dancers, sometimes performing as chorus girls, burlesque dancers or fan dancers, and many are classically trained with skills in ballet. The term showgirl is also sometimes used by strippers and some strip clubs use it as part of their business name.
Basic Instinct 2 is a 2006 erotic thriller film and the sequel to 1992's Basic Instinct. The film was directed by Michael Caton-Jones and produced by Mario Kassar, Joel B. Michaels, and Andrew G. Vajna. The screenplay was by Leora Barish and Henry Bean. It stars Sharon Stone, who reprises her role of crime mystery author Catherine Tramell, and David Morrissey. The film is an international co-production of German, British, American, and Spanish production companies.
The Center of the World is a 2001 American drama film directed by Wayne Wang and shot on digital video. It stars Peter Sarsgaard as a dot-com millionaire who hires a drummer/stripper to stay with him in Las Vegas for three days for US$10,000. The film was screened out of competition at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.
Jade is a 1995 American erotic thriller film written by Joe Eszterhas, produced by Robert Evans, directed by William Friedkin, and starring David Caruso, Linda Fiorentino, Chazz Palminteri, Richard Crenna, and Michael Biehn. The original music score was composed by James Horner based on a song composed by Loreena McKennitt. The film was marketed with the tagline "Some fantasies go too far."
The erotic thriller or sexual thriller is a film subgenre defined as a thriller with a thematic basis in illicit romance or sexual fantasy. Though exact definitions of the erotic thriller can vary, it is generally agreed "bodily danger and pleasure must remain in close proximity and equally important to the plot." Most erotic thrillers contain scenes of softcore sex and nudity, though the frequency and explicitness of those scenes can differ from film to film.
Go into Your Dance is a 1935 American musical drama film starring Al Jolson, Ruby Keeler, and Glenda Farrell. The film was directed by Archie Mayo, and is based on the novel of the same name by Bradford Ropes. It was released by Warner Bros. on April 20, 1935. An irresponsible Broadway star gets mixed up with gambling and gangsters.
Striptease is a 1996 American black comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by Andrew Bergman, and starring Demi Moore, Armand Assante, Ving Rhames, Robert Patrick and Burt Reynolds. Based on Carl Hiaasen's 1993 best-selling novel of the same name, the film centers on an FBI secretary-turned-stripper who becomes involved in both a child-custody dispute and corrupt politics.
Rena Riffel is an American actress, singer, dancer, model, writer, producer, and director. She is known for her supporting roles in films such as Showgirls, Striptease, and Mulholland Drive.
Showgirls 2: Penny's from Heaven is a 2011 American erotic drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Rena Riffel. A sequel to Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls (1995), the film stars Riffel, reprising her role as stripper Penny Slot / Helga, alongside Glenn Plummer, Peter Stickles, Greg Travis, Shelley Michelle, Ford Austin, Jade Paris and Andrew Štefánik. The plot follows Penny as she relocates to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of becoming a dancer on a hit television show.
You Don't Nomi is a 2019 American documentary film that details the history of the 1995 erotic drama film Showgirls. The documentary is directed by Jeffrey McHale and it features the original cast of the film. It premiered on 27 April 2019 at the Tribeca Film Festival, and upon release it was met with positive feedback from the critics. The film was nominated for Ad Hoc Docs Competition category at the Cleveland International Film Festival.
1 2 Nichols, Peter M. (December 8, 1995). "Home Video". The New York Times. ISSN0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
↑ "Showgirls". Movie-Censorship.com. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
↑ "Top Laserdisc Sales". Billboard. Vol.108, no.4. January 27, 1996. p.102. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
Steve Baker, Ricky Blitt, Will Carlough, Tobias Carlson, Jacob Fleisher, Patrik Forsberg, Will Graham, James Gunn, Claes Kjellstrom, Jack Kukoda, Bob Odenkirk, Bill O'Malley, Matthew Alec Portenoy, Greg Pritikin, Rocky Russo, Olle Sarri, Elizabeth Wright Shapiro, Jeremy Sosenko, Jonathan van Tulleken, and Jonas Wittenmark – Movie 43 (2013)
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