Showgirls (1995)

A young drifter, named Nomi, arrives in Las Vegas to become a dancer and soon sets about clawing and pushing her way to become the top of the Vegas showgirls.

Director:

Paul Verhoeven

Writer:

Joe Eszterhas

Stars:

Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon

9 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elizabeth Berkley	...	Nomi Malone
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Zack Carey
Gina Gershon	...	Cristal Connors
Glenn Plummer	...	James Smith
Robert Davi	...	Al Torres
Alan Rachins	...	Tony Moss
Gina Ravera	...	Molly Abrams
Lin Tucci	...	Henrietta 'Mama' Bazoom
Greg Travis	...	Phil Newkirk
Al Ruscio	...	Mr. Karlman
Patrick Bristow	...	Marty Jacobsen
William Shockley	...	Andrew Carver
Michelle Johnston	...	Gay Carpenter
Dewey Weber	...	Jeff
Rena Riffel	...	Penny / Hope

Storyline

Nomi Malone, a mysterious young girl with the ambition to dance embarks on a journey to Las Vegas to become a showgirl in a high-class hotel show. There she meets Molly, a seamstress at the Stardust Hotel and the two quickly become good friends. She gets a job as a lap dancer at the seedy Cheetah Club but after a chance meeting with Cristal Connors, the star of Goddess, the current show at the hotel where Molly works, Nomi manages to secure an audition for a spot on the chorus line.However she soon realises that fame comes with a price as her friendships, her morals and her soul are put to the test as she works her way up the ladder and eventually becomes the star of the show, stealing Cristal's part. She begins to wonder if all of her work was for nothing and if she can reclaim her life back before it is too late.

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Plot Keywords:

showgirl | hotel | dance | stripper | ambition | 

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Taglines:

The girls are back in town! (re-release)

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated NC-17 for nudity and erotic sexuality throughout, and for some graphic language and sexual violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

France USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Les Girls de Las Vegas

Filming Locations:

Carson City, Nevada, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

£729,483 (UK) (19 January 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carolco Pictures, Chargeurs, United Artists

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min 131 min (NC-17)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the film tanked on its opening weekend, writer Joe Eszterhas took the unprecedented step of taking out an ad in Variety, urging female movie-goers to go see the movie, not because it was semi-pornographic but because it highlighted the exploitations that lap dancers are subjected to. He attacked the studio for using cheap marketing tricks, where they used the tag line 'Leave your inhibitions at the door' to sell the film as a cheap sex movie. Needless to say, this tactic didn't help the film any.

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Goofs

After Nomi's friend is raped at the party, she's in the hospital where the doctor reveals that she's had vaginal tearing, then after he leaves Nomi tries to call the police to report it and Zack stops her. But the police should have already been notified by the hospital as is standard procedure with suspected sexual assault victims.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jeff: Hop in, pard!
Nomi Malone: Where are you going?
Jeff: Vegas! Come on! This is your lucky day!

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Connections

Referenced in Gilmore Girls: A Messenger, Nothing More (2004)

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Soundtracks

"I'M AFRAID OF AMERICANS"
Lyrics by David Bowie
Music by David Bowie / Brian Eno
Performed by David Bowie

User Reviews

i loved this piece of crap

Nomi is a young girl who is going to Los Vegas to become a dancer. She's starts at a strip club called cheetahs, then she makes it to the Stardust chorus line. Her friend Molly, she is a costume designer for the stardust, which helped with her career path. The lead dancer at Stardust is Chistal, and Nomi trys get overthrow her to get her part.

This is such a stupid movie, but that's what makes this movie such a treat. When this first came out 10 years ago, it majorly flopped. It was seen as exploitive against women and depraved. Elizabeth Berkley from saved by the bell fame used this movie as her chance to be taken as a serious actress, and she was outcast from acting. I think this movie was made just at the wrong time. It has been ten years and what social satire in '95 was, is very different now. I found this very empowering towards women. It shows just how blind men can be; that women have more power than they actually realize.

Elizabeth Berkley does do a very bad job at acting, but there is this charm she has. all the over acting brought some dignity to her character. Gina Gershon as Christal plays the best bitch; very two faced. Kyle MacLachlan looks like he stumbled off the set of Blue velvet, but brought some of Denis hoppers sleaze along with him.

Paul Verhoeven directed this bag of sleaze, but like a lot of his movies, there is this mood of depression; showing life at its worse, where it cant get any worse. If you've seen Total Recall, RoboCop and Starship Troopers you'll notice this running theme of his.

this does have a bit of a slow burn to it. a lot of the back stabbing doesn't happen till about the hour and half point, but its a great cynical satire till then. there's so many clichés in here, but you kinda don't think about them as most of the time your wondering if you just saw what you just SAW. And the one liners are just awesome.

This may not be a master piece, its far from it. but this show just how great some bad tasting movies can be the most pleasurable experience.