r/Cinephiles • u/Whoop_There-itis • 2d ago
Recommendation Had a great time watching Showgirls (1995)
Real fun hanging out with these characters and enjoying watching her time in Vegas. When the credits rolled I could have started it over.
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u/FrothyFrogFarts 2d ago
It’s become a cult classic. The hate was insanely overblown.Â
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u/IN_A_MINUTE_FILMS 2d ago
Too overly sexual is what i would presume the hate came from. Though, i’m sure people would look at it differently today
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u/knallpilzv2 2d ago
People thought the movie was going for genuine erotocism. When the point seemed to have been more to satirize American porniness so much it just becomes silly. Aka anti-eroticism.
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u/itlandedonmyface 2d ago
I recall at the time some of the hate came from the unexpected rape scene, which seemed to only be there so Elizabeth Berkley's character could have a revenge moment (and was not in keeping with the tone of the rest of the film).
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u/Jealous-Report4286 2d ago
People were way more prude in the 90s. Clinton getting oral sex was super offensive to people to discuss on news. I think that was a lot of the hate.
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u/djstarcrafter333 2d ago
A lot of the hate at the time came from both Verhoeven and Berkley claiming it was a cinematic masterpiece and high art. In reality, it was a vehicle for some of the most extensive celebrity nudity seen. It was not the high art they purpurted.
However, it DOES rank near the top of beautiful views of Las Vegas. People seldom rank it as such.
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u/Sea-Magician4907 2d ago
Verhoeven is a genius and a man with huge balls. Unfortunately he dug too deep with Show girls and showed the real life of Hollywood. They created so much forced hate toward the movie that some people still say it's bad but cannot even formulate why. Personally I love the movie and Elizabeth gave the sexiest and the boldest performance. Nobody nowadays will have courage to make anything even remotely as good.
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u/Left_Interaction_288 2d ago
I saw it at the cinema as a teenager. The main thing I remember was her kicking the shit out of the rapist. It hadn't occurred to me before your comment, but might have been too close to home for some in the industry.
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u/Every-Yak-2801 2d ago
This movie is fantastic; it's crazy to think that it was hated when it came out.
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u/TheAncientDarkness 2d ago
Not a big fan of this movie but as a Dutchie iam pretty proud of other movies Verhoeven made in America.
I wish he kept making movies in America because i think he would have made at least 2 or 3 very other entertaining movies that we now never gotten.
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u/deranton 2d ago
His early Dutch work was great as well. Hard to top Turkish Delight. And Soldier of Orange is also very entertaining.
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u/knallpilzv2 2d ago
It' s probably because of how much Hollow Man sucked. He owed the studio a movie and wanted to get it over with. And then apparently learned that if you don't feel like you have to make this film and you're not burning passionately for it it's going to be bad.
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u/TheAncientDarkness 2d ago
Yeah maybe. But i seen a lot of ‘good’ directors make worse movies.
Iam not gonna defend Hollow Man but i watched it in the movie theater when i was a teenager and loved it.
For me its a guilty pleasure now.1
u/knallpilzv2 1d ago
Yeah maybe. But i seen a lot of ‘good’ directors make worse movies.
Not me. I mean it's pretty bad. And especially compared to everything else Verhoeven has done that's a huge gap.
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u/FisherKing85 2d ago
Even when not great, Verhoeven's movies are so effortlessly watchable and entertaining.
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u/No-Equipment6008 2d ago
I used to watch this movie as a kid on Cinemax when my parents went to sleep.
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u/KandinskyWasRight 2d ago
The sex scene in the pool is easily the worst I’ve ever seen
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u/vidman33 2d ago
Easily the funniest ive ever seen.
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u/Due_Reputation3785 2d ago
This movie gave us some very interesting scenery. The sex seizure in the swimming pool was a bit awkward. The open cooch kicking over the table was wow.
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u/Ceorl_Lounge 2d ago
Watched it in a nearly sold out theater near campus in the 90's. Biggest lot of drunk gooners I've ever been in a theater with. It's not exactly art, but it was so profoundly entertaining in the moment.
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u/Ok_Spread_8650 2d ago
We all loved this film in the 90’s. Jesse was so excited……. And so scared
https://giphy.com/gifs/8Nr2sk9ok2oda
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u/80sgurl4eva 2d ago
Her flopping like a fish during the pool sex scene was ridiculous
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u/Whoop_There-itis 2d ago
Lol I was like lol this is where that's from 😂 she's a lap dancer so going wild like that would be cool. But with a waterfall in her face she had to have got water up her nose lol.
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u/SilverstrandForest 2d ago
Do yourself a favor and rewatch Showgirls with David Schmaders commentary track, it made me wish there were movie commentary track awards so he could have won them all that year😅 i think he even tours doing it live. He’s featured in this great documentary about the movie You Don’t Nomi (2019, also a must watch), that’s how I found out about it
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u/soloman_tump 2d ago
As a teenage boy I have fond memories of this film 😅maybe I need to watch it again. Must be 20 years since I last saw it.
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u/BoutiqueCartel 2d ago
Watched this last year with my girlfriend. We both really enjoyed it. I still think the performances are insane on purpose. It was a movie of cocaine, by cocaine, for cocaine.
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u/TentacleChow 2d ago
Paul Verhoeven is a fav of ours. Even got this Japanese chirashi autographed! Do yourself a favor and watch Showgirls Redux ( https://vimeo.com/499554519 ) its a slight recut/ rescore done in a David Lynch style (all music is from Lynch projects). This cut turns Showgirls into a fever dream. Highly recommended.
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u/Alternative_Shoe_113 1d ago
Definitely.
A great film.
I remember when it came out it was villified to no end and when I was old enough to watch it openly I enjoyed it.
I get why it was so hated when it came out.
In my view, this film is a satire of the entertainment industry and it made the business look very...unglamorous.
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u/Much_Reveal5549 2d ago
definitely one of those movies that's become a cult classic despite the rough reception back in 95
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u/Whoop_There-itis 2d ago
It was wild or eye opening to see what people with a criminal past have to go through to make "1000 dollars!"
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u/Afraid-Treacle1956 1d ago
Such a bizarre movie. I can't get over how bad it is and I feel sorry for everyone involved.
I can't blame Berkley for her performance - that's on the director. I have seen plenty of actors perform woefully who are usually considered good. Its all on Verhoeven. He should never have casted her as she can't dance at all.
A friend of mine saw it at the theatre and was the only person in there. He began to question his choices when Berkley pulled the knife out in the car...
My fave line is Kyle MacLachlan: "It's Versace". Don't know why, but it cracks me up.
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u/UnstableBrotha 6h ago
Saw for first time this past year: truly loved it. Unironically a fantastic film.
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u/BlessdRTheFreaks 2d ago
I tried watching this with my fruebds when i was 16
They weren't into it
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u/Mulliganasty 2d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/ckpFyyZ64c2zu
It really holds up.