'' is a film directed by
Paul Verhoeven and released in
1995 by
United Artists . It starred former
Teen Actress Elizabeth Berkley (''
Saved By The Bell '') as a drifter who wanders into
Las Vegas and climbs the social ladder from
Stripper to
Showgirl . The film was hoped to be a huge success for the film studio, its directors, and stars. Significant controversy and hype about the film's seemingly gratuitous amounts of sex and nudity preceded the film's release. In the U.S., the finally released film was
Rated NC-17 for "
Nudity and
Erotic Sexuality throughout, and for some
Graphic Language and
Sexual Violence ."
''Leave your inhibitions at the door. The show is about to begin.''
Sexy and mysterious (if temperamental) Nomi (Berkley) hitchhikes into
Las Vegas , but everything she owns is stolen by her driver. While Nomi is vomiting on the side of a car, the car's owner, Molly, a
Seamstress , confronts her. After talking and discovering Nomi does not have any family, Molly takes her in, helping to get her a job as a
Stripper at the seedy Cheetah Club. One night Nomi accompanies Molly backstage at ''Goddess'', the Vegas show at the
Stardust where Molly is costume mistress. Nomi meets Cristal Conners (
Gina Gershon ), the irritable star of the show. When Nomi tells Cristal that she, too, is a dancer, Cristal tells Nomi what she does is akin to
Prostitution .
The next evening Cristal and her boyfriend (an entertainment manager at the Stardust) Zach (
Kyle MacLachlan ) visit the Cheetah where they pay Nomi
US$ 500 for a
Lap Dance . It turns out that Cristal is bisexual, and Nomi does not want to do the private dance for fear it will prove her to be the prostitute Cristal called her. Nomi later discovers Cristal has arranged for her to have an audition as an ensemble dancer in ''Goddess''. When Nomi is told to remove her bra for the audition, she is upset, even though she obviously knows that this is an audition for a topless Vegas show. When Nomi gets the job, she quits her stripping and erotic dancing job. Soon Nomi is flirting with Zach, and eventually, in an attempt to get ahead, Nomi pushes Cristal down a flight of stairs, injuring her badly and sending her to the hospital. Nomi ends up getting Cristal's lead in the show. Nomi also seduces Zach for outdoor sexual intercourse in a swimming pool.
However, at the opening night party, Molly is brutally instead.
The film's subject matter was relatively controversial, but relevant:
Rape ,
Lesbian ism, and
Interracial Relationship s were just some of the topics explored. However, the frequent and gratuitous nudity and simulated sex in the film, and the writing (the screenplay was written by previously-successful
Joe Eszterhas , who had worked with
Paul Verhoeven before, and who reportedly received US$1 million for the script), did not lend itself to what might have been an enthralling film. Instead the film was heralded as
One Of The Worst Ever Written , winning 6
1995 Golden Raspberry Awards .
Kyle MacLachlan walked out of the movie's premiere, during which he was allegedly heard exclaiming "I thought this was an art movie." Paul Verhoeven gamely appeared in person at the Razzies ceremony to accept his "award" for Worst Director. Some other lowly films have been described as "Showgirls-bad".
The film's reviews did some damage to Berkley's career, who had difficulty finding work for some time but managed to find smaller parts in films such as ''
The Real Blonde '' and ''
The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion '', but her career has rebounded in recent years. Gershon managed to survive the scourge of the film, going on to moderate acting success.
Since its release, the film has achieved
Cult Status . It is shown at midnight madness theaters alongside films like ''
The Rocky Horror Picture Show '' and ''
The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert ''. It has grossed over one hundred million dollars, making it a commercial success. It is heralded as one of the best "good-bad movies" of all time, and is somewhat of a
Camp classic (in the vein of ''
Valley Of The Dolls .'')
The rights to show the film on television were eventually purchased by the
VH1 network. However, because of the film's gratuitous nudity, a peculiar moment in cinema history occurred. An alternative,
Censored version of the film was created with black bras and panties digitally added over all frontally nude actresses. In addition, several scenes were removed entirely. Berkley refused to redub her lines, so a noticeably different actress's voice was used in the dubbing.
Recent years have seen a reevaluation of the film's merits. Critics such as
Jonathan Rosenbaum and
Charles Taylor , as well as filmmaker
Jacques Rivette , have gone on the record defending ''Showgirls'' as a serious satire. Actor
Patrick Bristow , who plays choreographer Marty, defended the film as "not that bad" excepting "that horrible rape scene". This refers to the scene in which Molly is raped, which is considered one of the most tasteless and offensive depictions of rape in cinematic history (including a moment where one of the actors spits into actress
Gina Ravera 's mouth.)
In 2004 MGM released a special boxed set for ''Showgirls'' called "The V.I.P. Edition." Inside the box are two shot-glasses, special cards from the film with
Drinking Game s on the back, a deck of
Playing Card s, and a nude poster of Berkley with a pair of suction-cup
Pasties so one can play "pin the pasties on the stripper."
A new DVD is also included which features several bonus features including a "how-to" tutorial for giving a ".
