Molly invites Nomi backstage at Goddess, the Stardust Casino show where she works, to meet Cristal Connors, the diva star of the casino's topless dance revue. After a driver who picked her up robs her, Nomi meets Molly Abrams, a costume designer who takes Nomi in as a roommate. Nomi Malone is a young drifter who hitchhikes to Las Vegas hoping to make it as a showgirl. Despite this, Showgirls has become regarded as a cult film and has been subject to critical re-evaluation, with some notable directors and critics considering it a serious satire worthy of praise. Showgirls was universally panned upon release and is consistently ranked as one of the worst films ever made.

This edited version runs 3 minutes shorter (128 minutes) and deletes some of the more graphic footage. For its video premiere, Verhoeven prepared an R-rated cut for rental outlets that would not carry NC-17 films.

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.ĭespite a negative theatrical and critical consensus, Showgirls enjoyed success on the home video market, generating more than $100 million from video rentals, allowing the film to turn a profit and became one of MGM's top-20 all-time bestsellers. 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 film-goers were over the age of 17.

In the United States, the film 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-rated film to be given a wide release in mainstream theaters. Produced on a then-sizable budget around $45 million, significant controversy and hype surrounding the film's amounts of sex and nudity preceded its theatrical release. Showgirls is a 1995 erotic drama thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven from a script written by Joe Eszterhas and starring Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, Glenn Plummer, Robert Davi, Alan Rachins and Gina Ravera.

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