23
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 60The New RepublicStanley KauffmannThe New RepublicStanley KauffmannWhat matters much more than the story or the Spicy Stuff is the dancing, the show-biz dancing. It's electric. Exciting. And there's lots of it. [23 Oct 1995]
- 58Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanAs Nomi, Elizabeth Berkley has exactly two emotions -- hot and bothered -- but her party-doll blowsiness works for the picture.
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertIf the plot and screenplay are juvenile, the production values are first-rate, and the lead performance by newcomer Elizabeth Berkley has a fierce energy that's always interesting.
- 50Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonTo take Showgirls that seriously (as either trash-art or appalling pornography) wouldn't be worth the exertion.
- 50Chicago TribuneGene SiskelChicago TribuneGene SiskelThe film's big lap-dance sequence is impressive, however, if only for the sheer athleticism of Elizabeth Berkley's contortion. Later, when she pulls the same stunt in a swimming pool, we recognize the show for what it is--a male fantasy film in which the women are little more than rag dolls. [22 Sept 1995]
- 30TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineAfter an onslaught of prerelease hype promising the erotic experience of a lifetime, Showgirls reveals itself as a 131-minute dose of cinematic saltpeter.
- 25San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleWhat's completely baffling is that everyone in the film thinks Nomi is one heck of a dancer, even though her one move -- throwing her arms out stiffly -- is straight out of "Dr. Strangelove."
- 0Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenThe story is so shabbily built that it can make no valid claim to motives other than the filmmakers' mercenary desires to cash in on the public's prurient interests. And even on this bottom-feeder level, Showgirls fails to deliver the goods.
- 0San Francisco ExaminerSan Francisco ExaminerThat Berkley cannot act is indisputable. But her dancing looks like a seizure.
- 0Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLacking the combustible Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas in leading roles, Showgirls descends into incoherent tedium. 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.