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Showgirls (1995)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:37
Fresh:5
Rotten:32
Average Rating:2.7/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 52 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: High-strung, statuesque Nomi Mallone (Elizabeth Berkely) is determined to be a dancer in Las Vegas, whatever it takes--but she starts out as a stripper. Through her seamstress roommate (Gina... High-strung, statuesque Nomi Mallone (Elizabeth Berkely) is determined to be a dancer in Las Vegas, whatever it takes--but she starts out as a stripper. Through her seamstress roommate (Gina Ravera), Nomi catches the attention of the voracious bisexual Cristal (Gina Gershon), star of an extravagant pagan sex show called "Goddess" which plays nightly at the swanky Stardust Casino. Through Cristal's influence, Nomi gets a chance to audition for "Goddess" and is soon involved in all sorts of sordid backstage goings-on, including bitchy dueling with Cristal over Stardust head honcho Zack (Kyle McLachlan). Maligned by many critics upon its original release, SHOWGIRLS has since become a true camp classic, revived for midnight showings and beloved for its decadence, high nudity yield, and outrageously catty dialogue (courtesy of screenwriter Joe Eszterhas). Its director is Paul Verhoeven (ROBOCOP, TOTAL RECALL), so one can safely assume SHOWGIRLS' over-the-top hostility and sexuality is meant to be a satire of American culture. One of the first big-budget Hollywood movies to be released with an NC-17 rating, its lack of box office success meant few others would have the guts to follow. [More]
Starring: Elizabeth Berkley, Gina Gershon, Kyle MacLachlan, Glenn Plummer
Starring: Elizabeth Berkley, Gina Gershon, Kyle MacLachlan, Glenn Plummer, Robert Davi, Alan Rachins, Gina Ravera
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Screenwriter: Joe Eszterhas
Producer: Charles Evans, Alan Marshall, Mario Kassar
Composer: David A. Stewart
Reviews for Showgirls
Showgirls approximates the feeling of someone sleazy putting the make on you. Its brand of sexual harassment makes you feel dirty and not at all flattered.
The story is so shabbily built that it can make no valid claim to motives other than the filmmakers' mercenary desires to cash in on the public's prurient interests.
Tasteless, tawdry, and guaranteed to leave you rolling in the aisles... the best bad filmmaking Hollywood has to offer.
Not only is this movie really dumb, but it's barely sexy, and not even close to explicit.
The script -- a generic blend mixing the soap of All About Eve with the suds of Valley of the Dolls -- is replete with the clunkiest dialogue this side of Peyton Place.
An overcoat movie for men who don't want to be seen going into a porno theater.
Think of Flashdance but with an unappealing leading lady playing a woman whose fierce ambition is to do something not admirable, just ridiculous.
Showgirls is fun, pure and simple, as long as you don't take any of it seriously.
...despite its rampant sexual material, it is not a sexy film. Dang, this thing couldn't get anything right.
A bore with nothing much to say about anything and for that matter not much to look at.
Verhoeven, a Dutch filmmaker whose early works include the dazzlingly intelligent and anarchic The Fourth Man, has clearly lost his soul in Hollywood.
To take Showgirls that seriously (as either trash-art or appalling pornography) wouldn't be worth the exertion.
It’s great that a critically and publicly lambasted movie gets a special edition [DVD] that gets it.
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