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Parents' Guide to

Showgirls

By Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Borderline porn cult "hit" with drugs, rape, topless fights.

Movie NC-17 1995 131 minutes
Showgirls Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 18+

Based on 12 parent reviews

age 18+

Showgirls Parent Guide

This movie was just made for money. No great messages and no great role models. Too much sex (A.K.A. anal or regiment) and dirty massages (A.K.A. oral). A woman is beaten and raped. A guy bites a lady's nipples. "Whores" are mentioned. Some people who watch porn on the internet hate it too. The heck with this movie. This movie is not for kids under 18. More like not for civilized human beings. One of the worse movies of all time. I rather eat trash than watch that movie. There is more about this movie that I am not going to mention.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
2 people found this helpful.
age 18+
Showgirls is a Women Movie in Las Vegas and is a Good Movie. But, Not for Babies, Kids or Teens. For Babies, If You Want a Best Good Movie, Watch Cars or Sesame Street Elmo Movies. For Kids, If You Want a Best Good Movie, Watch Daddy’s Home or Angry Birds Movie. For Teens, If You Want a Best Good Movie, Watch A Quiet Place or Ted. Showgirls HAS A LOTS OF ADULT SEX. YOU HAVE TO BE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD TO WATCH SHOWGIRLS. If Any Person Under 18 Years Old Watch Showgirls, Please Change the Movie to Appropriate Movies Such as Daddy’s Home or Other Movies That are Not Rated NC-17 or Adult. Rated R is Still OK for Persons Under 18 Years Old. Thank You for the Warning!

This title has:

Too much sex

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (12 ):
Kids say (21 ):

Between stripper-hookers, promoter-pimps, hateful choreographers, and creepy gay chorus boys, there's nobody to root for -- but everybody worked hard on the dancing, obviously. Critics were near-universal in their hatred -- a merciful Roger Ebert judged Showgirls bad but never boring, and some call it a "cult" film. It still failed to bring real usefulness to the NC-17 rating other than to make everyone take notice of a movie best forgotten. And quickly.

Notorious even before premiering, SHOWGIRLS tested the MPAA NC-17 rating for adults-only material. NC-17 got stamped on arty/indie film before; this was the first time a mainstream NC-17 blockbuster went wide with an ad blitz. Alas, the same "edgy" guys who made Basic Instinct went to extremes of bad taste with this flagrantly borderline-porno; a stew of stripper-stardom, drugs, ghastly boyfriends, betrayal, and bare booties/breasts. It pretends to be a moral story of an indominatable girl resisting 100 percent degredation and exploitation -- but hey, this is about topless Vegas dancers (she bails at about 99.05234 percent degredation).

Movie Details

  • In theaters: September 22, 1995
  • On DVD or streaming: July 17, 2007
  • Cast: Elizabeth Berkley , Gina Gershon , Kyle MacLachlan
  • Director: Paul Verhoeven
  • Studio: MGM/UA
  • Genre: Drama
  • Run time: 131 minutes
  • MPAA rating: NC-17
  • MPAA explanation: nudity and erotic sexuality throughout, and for some graphic language and sexual violence.
  • Last updated: August 9, 2023

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