Showgirls

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 requested 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{{snd}}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.{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114436/quotes/?ref_=tt_trv_qu | title=Showgirls (1995) – Quotes – IMDb | website=IMDb }}

{{Cast listing|

• Elizabeth Berkley as Nomi Malone / Polly Ann Costello
• Kyle MacLachlan as Zack Carey
• Gina Gershon as Cristal Connors
• Glenn Plummer as James Smith
• Robert Davi as Al Torres
• Alan Rachins as Tony Moss
• Gina Ravera as Molly Abrams
• Lin Tucci as Henrietta "Mama" Bazoom
• Greg Travis as Phil Newkirk
• Al Ruscio as Sam Karlman
• Patrick Bristow as Marty Jacobsen
• William Shockley as Andrew Carver
• Michelle Johnston as Gay Carpenter
• Dewey Weber as Jeff
• Rena Riffel as Penny / Hope
• Melissa Williams as Julie
• Ungela Brockman as Annie
• Melinda Songer as Nikki
• Jim Ishida as Mr. Okida
• Bobbie Phillips as Dee
• Carrie Ann Inaba as a Goddess Dancer

}}

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.{{cite book|last=Keesey|first=Douglas|year=2005|title=Paul Verhoeven|pages=136|publisher=Taschen |isbn=978-3-8228-3101-4}} Based on the idea he scribbled on a napkin, Eszterhas was advanced $2 million to write the script{{Cite news |last=Dowd |first=Maureen |author-link=Maureen Dowd |date=1993-05-30 |title=FILM; Bucks and Blondes: Joe Eszterhas Lives The Big Dream |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/30/movies/film-bucks-and-blondes-joe-eszterhas-lives-the-big-dream.html |url-status=live |access-date=2023-06-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110180022/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/30/movies/film-bucks-and-blondes-joe-eszterhas-lives-the-big-dream.html |archive-date=2022-01-10 |issn=0362-4331}} 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.{{cite web |date=September 15, 2006 |title=The Nerve Interview: Joe Eszterhas |url=http://www.nerve.com/filmlounge/interview/joeeszterhas |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061117132647/http://www.nervepop.com/filmlounge/interview/joeeszterhas/index.aspx |archive-date=November 17, 2006 |access-date=April 11, 2014 |website=Nerve.com}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Puig |first=Claudia |date=1995-07-21 |title=MGM Embraces NC-17 Rating for 'Showgirls' |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-07-21-ca-26181-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=2023-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713000708/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-07-21-ca-26181-story.html |archive-date=2023-07-13}} Verhoeven deferred 70% of his $6 million director's fee depending on if the film turned a profit.

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."{{Cite news |last=Eller |first=Claudia |date=1992-11-19 |title=Eszterhas deal nets $2 million |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/1992/film/news/eszterhas-deal-nets-2-million-100386/ |url-status=live |access-date=2023-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308094004/https://variety.com/1992/film/news/eszterhas-deal-nets-2-million-100386/ |archive-date=2021-03-08}}

Eszterhas completed the script in the later half of 1993.{{Cite web |last=Orth |first=Maureen |date=April 1996 |title=Not Your Average Joe |url=https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/1996/4/not-your-average-joe |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=Vanity Fair}} He later said, "I wrote Showgirls at the single most turbulent moment of my life," referring to the dissolution of his first marriage. "The stuff I've done since then has more warmth, more humor, is more upbeat."

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.

Prince was reported to be writing songs for the film.{{cite magazine|magazine=Daily Variety|date=September 8, 1994|page=1|title='Showgirls' to sing|last=Fleming|first=Michael}}

Before Elizabeth Berkley was cast as Nomi Malone, a long list of actresses were considered for the role, including Pamela Anderson,{{cite news |title=10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Making Of Showgirls |url=https://screenrant.com/showgirls-paul-verhoeven-behind-scenes-facts/ |access-date=22 June 2023 |work=Screen Rant |date=September 1, 2020}} Drew Barrymore, Angelina Jolie, Vanessa Marcil, Jenny McCarthy, Denise Richards,{{cite web | url=https://people.com/denise-richards-blessing-showgirls-comic-con-starship-troopers-8729938 | title=Denise Richards Recalls Losing Out on Raunchy 'Showgirls' Role Early in Her Career: 'Probably a Blessing' }} Jennifer Lopez,{{cite web | url=https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/jennifer-lopez-future-cult-classic-worst-audition-career.html/ | title=Jennifer Lopez Called This Future Cult Classic the 'Worst Audition' of Her Career | date=April 25, 2021 }} and Charlize Theron.{{Cite web |last1=Desborough |first1=James |last2=Patterson |first2=Emma |date=2015-10-18 |title=EXCLUSIVE: 'Showgirls' director Paul Verhoeven opens up about how film ruined Elizabeth Berkley's career, and lead role almost went to Charlize Theron |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/showgirls-director-opens-film-poor-success-article-1.2402154 |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=New York Daily News}} 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."

Madonna and Sharon Stone were considered for the part of Cristal Connors before Gina Gershon was cast.

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."{{cite web|first=Will|last=Harris|url=https://www.avclub.com/kyle-maclachlan-on-david-lynch-showgirls-and-billy-id-1798233981|title=Kyle MacLachlan on David Lynch, Showgirls, and Billy Idol-isms|website=The A.V. Club|date=September 28, 2012|access-date=September 28, 2015}}

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.

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.{{cite web|last=Alter |first=Ethan |date=2020-09-23 |title='Showgirls' at 25: Star Gina Ravera discusses the cult movie's most controversial scene |url=https://www.yahoo.com/video/showgirls-gina-ravera-controversial-scene-130337799.html |website=Yahoo! |access-date=July 16, 2023}}

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",{{cite news|last=Considine |first=J.D |title=David Bowie: The FI Interview |magazine=Fi magazine |date=October 1997 |pages=36–41}} and a song of Siouxsie and the Banshees' "New Skin" recorded near Prague in June 1995.{{cite magazine |last1=Lynch |first1=Joe |title=Showgirls Turns 20: How David Bowie, U2 & Madonna Are Linked to the Cult Camp Classic |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/showgirls-anniversary-david-bowie-u2-soundtrack-6700827/ |access-date=June 1, 2023 |magazine=Billboard |date=September 22, 2015}}{{cite book |last=Paytress |first=Mark |title=Siouxsie & the Banshees: The Authorised Biography |publisher=Sanctuary |year=2003 |isbn=1-86074-375-7}} 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.{{cite web |title=Showgirls (1995) |url=http://www.soundtrackinfo.com/OST/showgirls/ |website=The Soundtrack INFO Project |access-date=16 July 2023}}

{{Infobox album

| name = Showgirls

| type = Soundtrack album

| artist = Various artists

| cover = Showgirls soundtrack.gif

| alt =

| released = September 26, 1995

| recorded = 1994–1995

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = Rock, pop, industrial

| length = 63:13

| label = Interscope/Atlantic

| producer = Various; for album: Paul Verhoeven (executive producer), Robin Green (music supervisor), Alan Marshall (producer for Vegas Productions)

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title =

| next_year =

}}

{{Track listing

| collapsed =

| headline = Music from and Inspired by Showgirls

| extra_column = Artist

| total_length =

| title1 = Animal

| writer1 = Kevin McMahon

| extra1 = Prick

| length1 = 4:09

| title2 = I'm Afraid of Americans

| writer2 = David Bowie (lyrics and music), Brian Eno (music)

| extra2 = David Bowie

| length2 = 5:12

| title3 = Kissing the Sun

| writer3 = F. Treichler

| extra3 = The Young Gods

| length3 = 4:31

| title4 = New Skin

| writer4 = Siouxsie Sioux

| extra4 = Siouxsie and the Banshees

| length4 = 5:36

| title5 = Wasted Time

| writer5 = My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult

| extra5 = My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult

| length5 = 3:55

| title6 = Emergency's About to End

| writer6 = Rob Zabrecky

| extra6 = Possum Dixon

| length6 = 2:37

| title7 = You Can Do It

| writer7 = Gwen Stefani, Eric Stefani, Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal

| extra7 = No Doubt

| length7 = 4:14

| title8 = Purely Sexuel

| writer8 = Xavier

| extra8 = Xavier

| length8 = 4:01

| title9 = Hollywood Babylon

| writer9 = Killing Joke

| extra9 = Killing Joke

| length9 = 6:44

| title10 = Beast Inside

| writer10 = Thomas/Campbell/Wilson

| extra10 = Freaks of Desire

| length10 = 5:43

| title11 = Helen's Face

| writer11 = T. Halliday, A. Moulder

| extra11 = Scylla

| length11 = 4:56

| title12 = Somebody New

| writer12 = My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult

| extra12 = My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult

| length12 = 2:37

| title13 = Goddess

| writer13 = David A. Stewart

| extra13 = David A. Stewart

| length13 = 3:27

| title14 = Walk into the Wind

| writer14 = David A. Stewart, Terry Hall

| extra14 = "Andrew Carver" (character in film; vocals performed by Buggsy Pearce)

| length14 = 5:37

}}

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.{{cite news|url = https://variety.com/1995/film/features/ads-basic-instinct-show-it-all-and-sell-99130051/|title = Ads' basic instinct: Show-it-all and sell|date = September 11, 1995|work = Variety|last = Levin|first = Gary|accessdate = December 9, 2024}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Puig |first=Claudia |date=1995-09-16 |title='Showgirls' and NC-17: Grin and Bare It |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-16-ca-46570-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714180000/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-16-ca-46570-story.html |archive-date=July 14, 2023}} Ads bore the tagline "leave your inhibitions at the door." The promotion included billboards in Times Square and Venice Beach, an interactive adults-only website,{{Cite news |date=1995-09-20 |title='Showgirls' Nets Fans With Hot Spot on Web |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-20-ca-47890-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714214220/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-20-ca-47890-story.html |archive-date=July 14, 2023}} and circulation of a "sneak preview" videotape at rental stores, which featured eight minutes of explicit footage not shown in theatrical trailers. 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.{{cite news|url = https://www.nydailynews.com/1995/09/20/showgirls-vids-get-em-while-theyre-hot-preview-of-sexy-movie-is-dancing-across-video-counters/|title = 'Showgirls' Vids: Get 'Em While They're Hot! Preview of Sexy Movie is Dancing Across Video Counters |newspaper = New York Daily News|date = September 20, 1995|accessdate = December 10, 2024}}

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. Eszterhas objected to this tactic, and took out a full-page advertisement in Variety where he insisted the film was a morality tale. 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." 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.

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.{{cite web |date=March 31, 2005 |title=Making Sense of Showgirls |url=http://posterwire.com/showgirls/ |website=posterwire.com}}

The film was released to 1,388 theaters in North America on September 22, 1995. Two theater chains in the South, Texas' Cinemark and Georgia's Carmike, declined to screen the film.{{cite news |last1=Horn |first1=John |title=Adults Only Mgm Granted Permission To Make 'Showgirls' Knowing It Would Be Rated NC-17 |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1995/sep/08/adults-only-mgm-granted-permission-to-make/ |access-date=14 July 2023 |work=The Spokesman-Review |agency=Associated Press |date=September 8, 1995 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714222945/https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1995/sep/08/adults-only-mgm-granted-permission-to-make/ |archive-date=July 14, 2023 |url-status=live}} On its opening weekend, the film made $8,112,627 and opened in the number 2 spot behind Seven.{{cite news|last=Hindes |first=Andrew |date=October 29, 1995 |title='Showgirls' aside, erotica grinds on |url= https://variety.com/1995/scene/markets-festivals/showgirls-aside-erotica-grinds-on-99128972/ |work=Variety |access-date=July 16, 2023}} In the second week, it slipped to the fifth spot and grosses fell 60%. Its total domestic take was $20,350,754, less than half of its $45 million budget.

While the film's theatrical run was underwhelming and did not recoup its budget, it went on to gross over $100 million in the home-video and rentals markets,{{cite news |last=Getlen |first=Larry |date=June 13, 2010 |title=The 'Showgirls' must go on |url=https://nypost.com/2010/06/13/the-showgirls-must-go-on/ |work=New York Post |location=New York City |access-date=August 21, 2016}} and as of 2014, the film is still one of MGM's highest-selling movies.

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.{{cite web |title=Domestic Grosses by MPAA Rating – NC-17 |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/chart/mpaa_title_lifetime_gross/?by_mpaa=NC-17 |access-date=August 16, 2008 |website=Box Office Mojo}}

Showgirls performed much better on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray, becoming one of MGM's top 20 best-sellers, grossing over $100 million in the US home media market alone. 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.{{Cite journal |last=Sandler |first=Kevin S. |date=2001 |title=The naked truth: Showgirls and the fate of the X/NC-17 rating |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/1350195 |journal=Cinema Journal |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=69–93 |doi=10.1353/cj.2001.0010 |jstor=1350195 |s2cid=159715826 |access-date=July 14, 2023}}{{Cite news |last=Nichols |first=Peter M. |date=1995-12-08 |title=Home Video |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/08/arts/home-video-074527.html |url-status=live |access-date=2023-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102070255/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/08/arts/home-video-074527.html |archive-date=2010-01-02 |issn=0362-4331}} 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.{{cite web |title=Showgirls |url=https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=1932233 |website=Movie-Censorship.com |access-date=22 June 2023}} The NC-17 version was also released on LaserDisc that year.{{cite magazine|title=Top Laserdisc Sales |date=January 27, 1996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7g4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA102 |volume=108 |number=4 |page=102 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=July 16, 2023}}

Showgirls was released on DVD for the first time on April 25, 2000.{{Cite web |last=Montgomery |first=Hugh |date=2020-07-14 |title=How Showgirls exposed the rot of our misogynistic culture |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200714-how-showgirls-told-the-truth-about-americas-foul-misogyny |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=BBC}} 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".{{cite magazine |last1=Bierly |first1=Mandi |title=Showgirls |url=https://ew.com/article/2004/07/30/showgirls/ |access-date=22 June 2023 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=July 30, 2004}} In 2007, MGM re-released the V.I.P. Edition DVD without the physical extras, as the "Fully Exposed Edition".{{cite magazine |date=23 July 2007 |title=Showgirls: Fully Exposed Edition |url=https://ew.com/article/2007/07/23/showgirls-fully-exposed-edition/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=13 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216205747/https://ew.com/article/2007/07/23/showgirls-fully-exposed-edition/ |archive-date=2015-02-16}}

On June 15, 2010, MGM released a 15th Anniversary "Sinsational Edition" in a two-disc dual-format Blu-ray/DVD edition.{{cite news |date=April 12, 2010 |title=Showgirls 15th Anniversary Blu-ray Announced |url=https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=4424 |access-date=April 12, 2010}}

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.

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.{{Cite web |title=Showgirls – 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray [German Import] Ultra HD Review |date=July 23, 2021 |website=High Def Digest|url=https://ultrahd.highdefdigest.com/97319/showgirls4kultrahdgermanimport.html |access-date=2023-11-01 }} 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.{{Cite web |title=Showgirls Vinegar Syndrome Ultra Edition – 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Review |date=July 11, 2023 |website=High Def Digest |url=https://ultrahd.highdefdigest.com/115999/showgirls4kultrahdbluray.html |access-date=2023-11-01}} Vinegar Syndrome launched a disc replacement program shortly after discovering sync issues in the film's 5.1 audio track.{{Cite tweet |number=1671589823797239820 |title=From @VinegarSyndrome: Due to a recently discovered issue with the 5.1 surround track on our #SHOWGIRLS Blu-ray and UHD discs, we will be implementing an automated replacement program for customers that purchased direct from http://VinegarSyndrome.com |user=disc_connected |date=June 21, 2023 |access-date=2023-11-01}}

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."{{cite news |last=Turan |first=Kenneth |author-link=Kenneth Turan |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-22-ca-48657-story.html |date=1995-09-22 |title=Movie Reviews : The Naked Truth About 'Showgirls' |work=Los Angeles Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329180702/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-22-ca-48657-story.html |archive-date=2020-03-29 |url-status=live |access-date=July 16, 2023}} 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."

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."{{cite magazine|title=Cinema: Valley of the Dulls |last=Corliss |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Corliss |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,983511-1,00.html |date=October 2, 1995 |magazine=Time |access-date=July 16, 2023}} 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."{{cite magazine |last1=Gleiberman |first1=Owen |author1-link=Owen Gleiberman |title=Showgirls |url=https://ew.com/article/1995/10/06/showgirls-2/ |access-date=16 July 2023 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=October 6, 1995}}

The character of Nomi was widely panned as unsympathetic and "irritating". 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."{{cite magazine|title='Showgirls' (NC-17) |last=Kempley |first=Rita |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/showgirlsnc17kempley_c02e63.htm |date=1995-09-25 |magazine=The Washington Post |access-date=July 16, 2023}}

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".{{Cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |date=1995-09-22 |title=Showgirls movie review & film summary (1995) |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/showgirls-1995 |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=RogerEbert.com}} 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." He also found some of the plot lines concerning the backstabbing between the dancers entertaining, saying, "It's trash, yes, but not boring". In a 1998 review, he stated the film received "some bad reviews, but it wasn't completely terrible".{{cite news|first=Roger|last=Ebert|title=An Alan Smithee Film Burn Hollywood Burn|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/an-alan-smithee-film-burn-hollywood-burn-1998|newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times|date=February 27, 1998}}

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".{{Cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |author-link=Janet Maslin |date=1995-09-22 |title=Film Review |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/22/movies/film-review.html |access-date=2023-06-21 |issn=0362-4331}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Guthmann |first=Edward |date=October 5, 1995 |title='Showgirls' Follows In Some Trashy Footsteps |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-10-05-9510050359-story.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230714154303/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-10-05-9510050359-story.html |archive-date=July 14, 2023 |via=Chicago Tribune}}

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." 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."{{cite magazine|title='Showgirls' (NC-17) |last=Kauffmann |first=Stanley |author-link=Stanley Kauffmann |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/61209/holidays-and-other-troubles |date=1995-10-22 |magazine=The New Republic |access-date=July 16, 2023}} He also complimented Ravera and Gershon. 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." 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."{{cite magazine|title=Showgirls: The Film File |last=Lane |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony Lane |url=http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/showgirls |magazine=The New Yorker |date=October 1995 |access-date=July 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307050643/http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/showgirls |archive-date=2008-03-07 |url-status=dead}}

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."{{cite web |title=Showgirls (1995) |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/showgirls |access-date=June 22, 2024 |website=Rotten Tomatoes}} Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 20 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".{{cite web |title=Showgirls reviews |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/showgirls |access-date=August 21, 2016 |website=Metacritic}} Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.{{cite web |title=Find CinemaScore |url=https://www.cinemascore.com |access-date=July 24, 2020 |publisher=CinemaScore |format=Type "Showgirls" in the search box}}

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.{{cite news |last=Waxman |first=Sharon |author-link=Sharon Waxman |date=October 25, 1997 |title=Sleazy Writer |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1997/10/25/sleazy-writer/7b99825a-9214-4cb3-ae2c-d80cbb243fa8/}}

Due to Showgirls{{'}} poor reception, Striptease, a 1996 film about nude dancers starring Demi Moore, was distanced from Showgirls in advertisements.{{cite magazine |last=Nashawaty |first=Chris |date=April 26, 1996 |title='Striptease's Demi Moore |url=https://ew.com/article/1996/04/26/stripteases-demi-moore/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=August 16, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613052304/https://ew.com/article/1996/04/26/stripteases-demi-moore/ |archive-date=June 13, 2015 |url-status=dead}} Elizabeth Berkley was dropped by her agent Mike Menchel following the film's release. Other agents refused to take her telephone calls.{{cite news |last=Puig |first=Claudia |author-link=Claudia Puig |date=October 11, 1995 |title=The Showgirl's Net: Bad Reviews, Agent Woes, $100,000 : Movies: Elizabeth Berkley is catching the heat, but director Paul Verhoeven accepts some of the blame. |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-10-11-ca-55870-story.html}}{{cite web | url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/11/elizabeth-berkley-lauren-on-revisiting-showgirls-for-saved-by-the-bell | title=Elizabeth Berkley Lauren on Revisiting 'Showgirls' for 'Saved by the Bell' | website=Vanity Fair | date=November 24, 2021 }} In 2013, she also said the film's critical reception made her stop dancing.{{cite web | url=https://variety.com/2013/tv/news/elizabeth-berkley-on-why-she-stopped-dancing-after-showgirls-1200747701/ | title=Elizabeth Berkley on Why She Stopped Dancing After 'Showgirls' | date=October 21, 2013 }}

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.

The film was the winner of a then-record seven 1995 Golden Raspberry Awards (from a record 13 nominations, a record that still stands) including Worst Picture, Worst Actress (Elizabeth Berkley), Worst Director (Paul Verhoeven), Worst Screenplay (Joe Eszterhas), Worst New Star (Elizabeth Berkley), Worst Screen Couple ("any combination of two people (or two body parts)") and Worst Original Song ("Walk Into the Wind" originally written by David A. Stewart and Terry Hall in 1992, covered in the film by main antagonist Andrew Carver).{{cite news |last1=Scott |first1=Vernon |title='Showgirls' runs away with Razzies |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/03/24/Showgirls-runs-away-with-Razzies/7017827643600/ |access-date=22 June 2023 |work=UPI |date=March 24, 1996}} Verhoeven appeared in person at the Razzies ceremony to accept his award for Worst Director.{{cite news |last1=Persall |first1=Steve |title=Showgirls gets razzed |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1996/03/25/showgirls-gets-razzed/ |access-date=22 June 2023 |work=Tampa Bay Times |date=March 25, 1996}}

Showgirls would later win an eighth Razzie Award for Worst Picture of the Last Decade in 2000.{{Cite web |title=20th Annual Razzie Awards |url=http://www.razzies.com/forum/1999-razzie-nominees-winners_topic349.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100126212815/http://www.razzies.com/forum/1999-razzie-nominees-winners_topic349.html |archive-date=2010-01-26 |access-date=June 22, 2023 |website=razzies.com}} It was soon tied with Battlefield Earth for winning the most Razzies in a single year,{{cite news |title=Battlefield Earth Ties Showgirls for Dubious Award |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=107672&page=1 |access-date=22 June 2023 |work=ABC News |date=March 26, 2001}} a record broken in 2008 when I Know Who Killed Me won eight trophies{{cite news |last1=Leopold |first1=Todd |title=Lohan's 'Killed Me' sets worst-film record |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/23/razzie.awards/ |access-date=22 June 2023 |work=CNN |date=February 23, 2008}} and again in 2012 when Jack and Jill won 10 awards.{{cite magazine |last=Bell |first=Carrie |title=Adam Sandler sweeps the Razzies |url=https://ew.com/article/2012/04/02/on-the-scene-at-the-razzies-our-intrepid-reporter-tackles-hollywoods-smallest-night/ |access-date=22 June 2023 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=April 2, 2012}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.thestinkers.com/1995.html |title=The Stinkers 1995 Ballot |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000711153615/http://thestinkers.com/1995.html |work=Stinkers Bad Movie Awards |archive-date=July 11, 2000 |url-status=dead}}

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".{{cite book|first=Naomi|last=Klein|author-link=Naomi Klein|title=No Logo|publisher=Knopf Canada|location=Toronto|year=1999|isbn=0-312-20343-8|page=79}} The film was heavily embraced by the LGBT community, who would host midnight movie-type screenings that became an ongoing tradition.{{cite news |last1=Gabriel |first1=Trip |title=Showgirls' Crawls Back As High Camp at Midnight |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/31/style/showgirls-crawls-back-as-high-camp-at-midnight.html |access-date=22 June 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=March 31, 1996}}{{Cite news |last=McHale |first=Jeffrey |date=2020-06-08 |title=How 'Showgirls' Became a Queer-Movie Classic |work=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-showgirls-became-a-queer-movie-classic |access-date=2023-07-14}} Movie screenings and viewing parties were hosted by performers such as Betty Buckley, Peaches Christ,{{Cite web |last=Lewis |first=David |date=2016-08-03 |title='Peaches Christ' digs her heels into 'Showgirls! The Musical!' |url=https://www.sfgate.com/performance/article/Peaches-Christ-digs-her-heels-into-9107828.php |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=San Francisco Chronicle}} and David Schmader.{{Cite web |last=Kiley |first=Brendan |date=2021-07-01 |title='Showgirls' the movie is terrible but 'Showgirls with David Schmader' is transcendent |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/showgirls-the-movie-is-terrible-but-showgirls-with-david-schmader-is-transcendent/ |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=The Seattle Times}} 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. 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. Home video rentals would go on to generate more than $100 million, making Showgirls one of MGM's top 20 all-time bestsellers.

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."{{cite magazine|last=Shaw|first=Jessica|date=March 22, 1996|title=Party girls: "Showgirls," "Pride and Prejudice" |url=https://ew.com/article/1996/03/22/party-girls-showgirls-pride-and-prejudice/|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=April 11, 2014}} 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."

The term "Showgirls-bad" has been adopted by film critics and fans to refer to films considered guilty pleasures, or "so-bad-they're-good",{{cite web |title=Anonymous review of Catwoman |url=http://www.porktartare.com/sight/sight_reviews.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715104249/http://www.porktartare.com/sight/sight_reviews.html |archive-date=July 15, 2011 |access-date=November 25, 2010 |website=Porktartare.com}}{{cite web |title=Anonymous review of Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows |url=http://exclaim.ca/index.asp?layid=22&csid=5&csid1=390 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311064553/http://www.exclaim.ca/index.asp?layid=22&csid=5&csid1=390 |archive-date=March 11, 2007 |access-date=November 25, 2010 |website=Exclaim.ca}}{{cite magazine |last=Sternbergh |first=Adam |date=March 26, 2006 |title=Springtime for the Undulating Curve of Shifting Expectations! |url=https://nymag.com/arts/all/features/16521/index.html |magazine=New York}} and the film has been heralded as a camp classic in the vein of films like Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.{{Cite web |last=Ayling |first=Mark Anthony |date=2020-06-02 |title=All About Nomi: Showgirls, Trash-Satire and the Resurrection of Camp Controversy |url=https://vhsrevival.com/2020/06/02/all-about-nomi-showgirls-trash-satire-and-the-resurrection-of-camp-controversy/ |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=VHS Revival}}{{Cite web |last=Kumar |first=Naveen |date=2019-05-02 |title=Funny, Stupid, Dirty, and Perfect: Why Showgirls May Be the Perfect Camp Movie |url=https://www.them.us/story/showgirls-perfect-camp-movie |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=Them.}}

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".{{cite web|title=Showgirls' banned in Ireland|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/11/25/Showgirls-banned-in-Ireland/1371817275600/|website=UPI|date=November 25, 1995|access-date=March 4, 2018}}{{Cite news|first=Michael|last=Dwyer|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/gratuitously-violent-film-banned-1.45461?mode=amp|title='Gratuitously violent' film banned|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=May 3, 1996|access-date=March 4, 2018}}{{cite web|title=Banned Films|url=https://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1823815|website=Everything2|access-date=March 4, 2018}}{{cite web |title=Films banned in Ireland |url=https://www.boards.ie/b/thread/113288 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305063023/https://www.boards.ie/b/thread/113288 |archive-date=March 5, 2018 |access-date=March 4, 2018 |website=boards.ie}} The film was passed uncut for its video release on October 23, 2017.{{cite web |title=Showgirls |url=https://www.ifco.ie/en/ifco/pages/59A3ECCC00736BD9 |access-date=July 14, 2023 |publisher=Irish Film Classification Office}}

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,{{Cite news |date=September 22, 2020 |title=Return to Sin City With These 25 Sensational Showgirls Secrets |work=E! Online |url=https://www.eonline.com/news/1190671/return-to-sin-city-with-these-25-sensational-showgirls-secrets |access-date=June 21, 2023}} so a noticeably different actress's voice can be heard on the soundtrack.{{cite AV media|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stWqOShaH6Y |title=Showgirls – The 'Digital Bra' TV Version |website=YouTube |access-date=August 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102154714/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stWqOShaH6Y&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date=2013-01-02 |url-status=dead}}

In 2003, the film was ranked number 36 on Entertainment Weekly{{'}}s 'The Top 50 Cult Movies' list.{{cite magazine |date=May 23, 2003 |title=The Cult 25: The Essential Left-Field Movie Hits Since '83 |url=https://www.filmsite.org/cultfilmsew2.html |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=September 4, 2008 |via=FilmSite.org}}

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!"{{Cite episode |title=The Song Remains the Same |series=NewsRadio |series-link=NewsRadio |network=NBC |date=February 18, 1996 |season=2 |number=14}} 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]".{{Cite episode |title=Brother's Little Helper |episode-link=Brother's Little Helper |series=The Simpsons |series-link=The Simpsons |network=Fox |date=October 3, 1999 |season=11 |number=2}}

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.{{Cite web|last=Wass|first=Mike|date=July 23, 2013|title=Iggy Azalea's Change Your Life Video Is Inspired By 'Blade Runner' And 'Showgirls': See The Pic|url=https://www.idolator.com/7472894/iggy-azalea-change-your-life-blade-runner-showgirls|access-date=June 21, 2018|website=Idolator}}

In 2019, You Don't Nomi, a documentary re-examining the film's legacy, was released.

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.{{Cite web |last=Abramovitch|first=Seth|date=March 21, 2024|title=Elizabeth Berkley Makes Peace With 'Showgirls' at Academy Museum Screening: "You Always Believed"|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/elizabeth-berkley-showgirls-academy-museum-screening-1235857222/|access-date=March 22, 2024|work=The Hollywood Reporter}}

Critics such as Jonathan Rosenbaum and J. Hoberman,{{cite book |last=Nayman |first=Adam |title=It Doesn't Suck: Showgirls |year=2018 |publisher=ECW Press |isbn=978-1770414402}} as well as filmmakers Jim Jarmusch,{{cite web |last=Rosenbaum |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Rosenbaum |date=November 12, 1999 |title=Sexual Healing |url=http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/?p=6439 |access-date=March 17, 2014 |website=Chicago Reader}} Adam McKay{{cite podcast|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d77cG01X6I8 |title=Orange Julius or Hi-C and Turkey? feat. Adam McKay |number=441 |series=Chapo Trap House |date=July 30, 2020 |access-date=July 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/d77cG01X6I8 |archive-date=2021-11-17 |url-status=live}} and Jacques Rivette, have gone on the record defending Showgirls as a serious satire.{{cite news |last1=Lim |first1=Dennis |date=June 13, 2010 |title=Second Look: 'Showgirls' keeps us guessing |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jun-13-la-ca-second-20100613-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=22 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128172806/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jun-13-la-ca-second-20100613-story.html |archive-date=2023-01-28}} 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".{{cite web |last=Bonnaud |first=Frédéric |date=March 25, 1998 |title=The Captive Lover – An Interview with Jacques Rivette |url=http://sensesofcinema.com/2001/16/rivette-2/ |access-date=March 17, 2014 |website=Senses of Cinema}} 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.{{cite book |last=Udovitch |first=Mim |editor-first=Gerald|editor-last=Peary|editor-link=Gerald Peary|title=Quentin Tarantino: Interviews |year=1998 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |location=Jackson, Mississippi|isbn=978-1-57806-051-1 |chapter=Mim Udovitch/1996 |pages=172–173 }}

Showgirls has been compared to the 1950 film All About Eve as a remake, update, or rip-off of that film.{{cite magazine|first=Jonathan|last=Rosenbaum|url= https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/showgirls/Film?oid=9217974|title=Showgirls |magazine=Chicago Reader|access-date=March 17, 2014}}{{cite web |last=Begg |first=Ken |title=Showgirls Review – Jabootu's Bad Movie Dimension |url=http://www.jabootu.com/acolytes/brandiweed/showgirls.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101118040753/http://jabootu.com/acolytes/brandiweed/showgirls.htm |archive-date=November 18, 2010 |access-date=November 25, 2010 |website=Jabootu.com}} For Rosenbaum, "Showgirls has to be one of the most vitriolic allegories about Hollywood and selling out ever made". "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.{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/328903/starship-troopers/#articles-reviews?articleId=152604 |last=Atkinson |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Atkinson (writer) |title=Starship Troopers |date=December 11, 2006 |website=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=March 17, 2014}}

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."{{cite magazine|last=Henderson |first=Eric |date=July 18, 2004 |title=Review: Showgirls |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/showgirls/ |access-date=April 17, 2012 |magazine=Slant Magazine}} 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."{{cite journal |last=Burch |first=Noël |year=2003 |title=Embarrassing Showgirls |journal=Film Quarterly |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=35–36 |doi=10.1525/fq.2003.56.3.32 |jstor=10.1525/fq.2003.56.3.32}} 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."{{cite journal|last=Noriega|first=Chon|title=A Whisper of Satire|journal=Film Quarterly|year=2003|volume=56|issue=3|pages=36–38|jstor=10.1525/fq.2003.56.3.32|doi=10.1525/fq.2003.56.3.32}}

Berkley's performance, which was heavily criticized as out of sync with the rest of the film's tone, was also reappraised.{{Cite web |last=Cippola |first=Matt |date=September 22, 2020 |title=This isn't Camp. This is holy water!: 'Showgirls' at 25 |url=http://www.thespool.net/reviews/movies/showgirls-anniversary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227051034/http://www.thespool.net/reviews/movies/showgirls-anniversary/ |archive-date=2020-12-27 |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=The Spool}} In 2015, Verhoeven said Berkley had unfairly taken on the bulk of criticism against the film and claimed responsibility for her performance. "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. 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". 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'".

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.{{cite magazine |last1=Bruney |first1=Gabrielle |title=Showgirls Is Absurd, Problematic, and Famously Bad. 25 Years Later It's a Hate-Watch Classic. |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a34100271/showgirls-25th-anniversary-essay-so-bad-its-good/ |magazine=Esquire |access-date=23 July 2023 |date=2020-09-22}} 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."

The film continues to generate critical discussion about its themes and commentary on patriarchal culture,{{Cite web |last=Evelyn |first=Christie |date=2020-08-05 |title='Showgirls' and the Panopticon of Patriarchy |url=https://screen-queens.com/2020/08/05/showgirls-and-the-panopticon-of-patriarchy/ |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=Screen Queens}} the American dream, and the nature of sex work,{{cite web |last1=Lipsett |first1=Joe |title=[Horror Queers Podcast] The Horrors of Sex and Sex Work in 'Showgirls' |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/podcasts/3633380/horror-queers-podcast-horrors-sex-sex-work-showgirls/ |website=Bloody Disgusting |access-date=14 July 2023 |date=2020-09-28}} with some contending that the film's many exaggerated aspects{{snd}}its gaudy dance numbers, excessive nudity, laughable dialogue, and over-the-top acting{{snd}}are all deliberately part of the film's intent.{{Cite news |last=Zarum |first=Lara |date=2014-06-04 |title=It Doesn't Suck |work=Slate |url=https://slate.com/culture/2014/06/it-doesnt-suck-adam-naymans-defense-of-showgirls-reviewed.html |access-date=2023-07-14 |issn=1091-2339}}{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Charles |date=2004-04-01 |title=Alive and kicking |url=https://www.salon.com/2004/03/31/showgirls_2/ |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=Salon}} 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."{{cite web |last=Rose |first=Steve |date=8 June 2020 |title=The naked truth about Showgirls: the 90s flop is a misunderstood gem |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jun/08/showgirls-the-90s-flop-is-a-misunderstood-gem-goddess-the-fall-and-rise-of-showgirls-you-dont-nomi |access-date=23 August 2021 |work=The Guardian}}

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.{{cite news |last1=Donnelly |first1=Billy |title=Paul Verhoeven talks the Showgirls sequel that never was |url=https://www.joblo.com/paul-verhoeven-talks-the-showgirls-sequel-that-never-was-270/ |access-date=22 June 2023 |work=JoBlo.com |date=2015-10-20}} However, these plans were dropped when the film did poorly at the box office.

A sequel focusing on minor character Penny was released in 2011. Titled Showgirls 2: Penny's from Heaven, it was written, produced, edited, directed by and starred Rena Riffel, who was the only character returning, apart from cameos by Glenn Plummer and Greg Travis.

In 2013, an off-off-Broadway parody called Showgirls! The Musical was mounted by Bob and Tobly McSmith of Medium Face Productions.{{Cite magazine |last=Bierly |first=Mandi |date=May 24, 2013 |title=Showgirls! The Musical! |url=https://ew.com/article/2013/05/24/showgirls-musical/ |access-date=2023-05-22 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly}} Originating at the Kraine Theater in New York City,{{Cite web |date=2013-04-23 |title='Showgirls! The Musical!' Makes NYC Debut |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/showgirls-musical-new-york_n_3114072 |access-date=2023-05-22 |website=HuffPost}} critical and audience response was overwhelmingly positive. It was moved to a 200-seat off-Broadway theater, XL Nightclub. 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.{{Cite web |date=May 21, 2013 |title=Rena Riffel Will Star in Showgirls! The Musical! for Full Off-Broadway Run |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/Rena-Riffel-Will-Star-in-SHOWGIRLS-THE-MUSICAL-for-Full-Off-Broadway-Run-20130521 |access-date=2023-05-22 |website=BroadwayWorld.com}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Schleicher |first=Marnie |date=2016-08-17 |title=You Don't Nomi!: Showgirls! The Musical! |url=https://www.sfweekly.com/art/you-don-t-nomi-showgirls-the-musical/article_892bd642-0f3f-5661-8a9b-c248f4b8f294.html |access-date=2023-05-22 |website=SFWeekly}} 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."{{cite news |last=Webster |first=Andy |title=Spandex Mostly On, Those Pole Dancers Return |work=The New York Times |date=May 29, 2013 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/30/theater/reviews/showgirls-the-musical-at-xl-nightclub.html |access-date =June 12, 2013}}

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. 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.{{Cite web |title=Showgirls! the Musical! Extends Through July 17; Cast Album Available June 11 |last=Peterson |first=Tyler |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/SHOWGIRLS-THE-MUSICAL-Extends-Through-July-17-Cast-Album-Available-June-11-20130606 |date=June 6, 2013 |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=BroadwayWorld.com}}

;Original cast recording

On June 11, 2013, a cast recording was released with eight tracks.

{{track listing

| all_writing = Bob and Tobly McSmith

| title1 = Fucking Underwater

| length1 = 2:42

| title2 = Boat Show

| length2 = 5:19

| title3 = The Whorrior

| length3 = 3:39

| title4 = Different Places (The Dead Hooker Song)

| length4 = 2:08

| title5 = Dancing Ain't Fucking, Girl

| length5 = 2:13

| title6 = You're a Whore, Darlin{{'-}}

| length6 = 2:45

| title7 = The Best Friend Song

| length7 = 2:50

| title8 = Don't Lick That Pole, Girl

| length8 = 2:42

}}

• List of cult films
• List of films set in Las Vegas
• List of films considered the worst
• Nudity in film
• Striptease (film)
• You Don't Nomi

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |last=Eszterhas |first=Joe |author-link=Joe Eszterhas |title=Hollywood Animal: A Memoir |year=2004 |publisher=Knopf |location=New York |isbn=978-0375413551 |url=https://archive.org/details/hollywoodanimalm00eszt}}
• {{cite journal|last=Hendy |first=Elizabeth |title="Nomi Malone is what Las Vegas is all about!": Phallic women in Showgirls |year=2022 |url=https://ojs.st-andrews.ac.uk/index.php/FCJ/article/view/2517 |journal=Frames Cinema Journal |volume=20 |pages=161–174 |doi=10.15664/fcj.v20i0.2517|s2cid=253650926 |doi-access=free }}
• {{Cite book |last=Henley |first=Dennis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sxqSDgAAQBAJ |title=Paul Verhoeven: Interviews |publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi |year=2016 |isbn=978-1496810182 |editor-last=Barton-Fumo |editor-first=Margaret |pages=104–120 |chapter=The Showgirl Must Go On |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sxqSDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA104}}
• {{cite book | last = Parish | first = James Robert | title = Fiasco – A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops | location = Hoboken, New Jersey | publisher = John Wiley & Sons | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-0-471-69159-4 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/fiascohistoryofh00pari }}
• {{cite journal |last=Smith |first=William |title=Different Places! Real and Hyperreal Las Vegas in Showgirls |date=April 22, 2021 |volume=6 |number=2|url=https://www.mediapolisjournal.com/2021/04/different-places-showgirls/ |journal=Mediapolis}}

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• [https://www.mgmplus.com/movie/showgirls Showgirls] at MGM
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{{Navboxes

|title = Awards for Showgirls

|list =

{{Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Worst Film}}

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{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Showgirls}}

Category:1995 films

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Category:1990s American films

Category:1990s dance films

Category:1990s English-language films

Category:1990s erotic drama films

Category:1990s exploitation films

Category:1990s French films

Category:American dance films

Category:American black comedy films

Category:American erotic drama films

Category:American LGBTQ-related films

Category:American sexploitation films

Category:French dance films

Category:French erotic drama films

Category:French exploitation films

Category:French LGBTQ-related films

Category:English-language French films

Category:Films about female bisexuality

Category:LGBTQ-related comedy-drama films

Category:Christianity-related controversies in film

Category:Obscenity controversies in film

Category:Rating controversies in film

Category:Films about drugs

Category:Films about interracial romance

Category:Films about striptease

Category:Films adapted into plays

Category:Films about rape in the United States

Category:Films set in the Las Vegas Valley

Category:Films shot in the Las Vegas Valley

Category:Films shot in Los Angeles

Category:Films directed by Paul Verhoeven

Category:Films produced by Mario F. Kassar

Category:Films produced by Alan Marshall (producer)

Category:Films with screenplays by Joe Eszterhas

Category:Carolco Pictures films

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Category:United Artists films

Category:Golden Raspberry Award–winning films

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Category:English-language erotic drama films