In , director Paul Verhoeven and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas – the same duo behind the recent and controversial “Basic Instinct” – released “Showgirls,” a provocative drama centering on Nomi Malone (Elizabeth Berkley), an ambitious young woman who arrives in Las Vegas with dreams of becoming a showgirl, only to find herself navigating the world of exotic dancing and its darker undercurrents.
Produced with a budget of around $45 million, “Showgirls” received an NC-17 rating in the United States for “pervasive nudity and explicit sexual content, strong language, and sexual violence.” This, coupled with negative critical reception, resulted in a box office flop, grossing just $37.8 million.
Reviews were overwhelmingly harsh. Richard Corliss of Time magazine famously wrote, “’Showgirls’ is one of those hilariously awful movies that could be taught in film schools as an example of How Not to Make a Movie.”
The film garnered 13 nominations at the Razzie Awards, the anti-Oscars that celebrate the worst in cinema, ultimately winning seven, including Worst Picture, Worst Director, and Worst Actress. In , “Showgirls” received another Razzie Award for Worst Picture of the 90s.
Verhoeven and Eszterhas bore the brunt of much of the criticism, but the harshest attacks were directed at Elizabeth Berkley, who had previously become a teen icon for her role as Jesse Spano on the television series “Saved by the Bell” ().
Critics described her as having “the open mouth and vacant eyes of an inflatable doll” (The New York Times) and compared her to “a piece of meat on a stick.”
Berkley, then only 21 years old, was accused of delivering a hysterical, excessive, and false performance, effectively ostracizing the once-promising actress from Hollywood.
“I took a huge hit personally and professionally. It was painful. I was isolated and felt abandoned by people I had worked with. For two years, I wasn’t allowed to audition,” the actress recounted.
Berkley added that “a lot of things happened that would be unthinkable now; no one could withstand that kind of attack. I didn’t understand how people could be so cruel, but I’m strong. I had to separate what they were saying from what I believed to be true. I believed in my work and in myself, but I hoped someone would stand up and defend me, but that didn’t happen.”
Ironically, after flopping at the box office and being savaged by critics, “Showgirls” became a significant commercial success upon its release in the home video market, earning $100 million in revenue.
Over time, the film was re-evaluated, gaining a cult following and being defended as a provocative and ahead-of-its-time performative work. Berkley’s performance also began to be re-evaluated by many. Even during its initial release, her performance was defended by Quentin Tarantino and critic Roger Ebert, who wrote that “the debut performance by Elizabeth Berkley has a fierce energy that makes it always interesting.”
In , Verhoeven admitted that “‘Showgirls’ drastically ruined Elizabeth Berkley’s career. It complicated my life, but not as much as Elizabeth’s. Hollywood turned its back on her. She could only have turned things around if she had been offered a very different role, but that never happened. Otherwise, I know she would have done it. I asked Elizabeth to do all of that, to be brash and act that way, but people have been attacking her ever since. If anyone is to blame, it’s me, because I thought it would be interesting to play the character that way.”
Today, Elizabeth Berkley views that difficult chapter of her life – the one that derailed her promising career – with different eyes. She attends special screenings of ‘Showgirls,’ speaks proudly of her character, and has transformed that bitter experience into a story of resilience and reclamation. The film itself is now considered a cult classic, as critic Janet Maslin predicted: “The effort to make America’s dirtiest studio movie has led Verhoeven and Ezsterhas to create an instant ‘camp’ classic,” she wrote.
The film’s enduring legacy, and Berkley’s journey through its aftermath, speaks to a broader cultural shift in how audiences and critics engage with challenging and transgressive art. What was once deemed a failure is now celebrated for its boldness, its camp aesthetic, and its willingness to push boundaries. “Showgirls” remains a fascinating case study in the unpredictable nature of cinematic reputation and the power of reclamation.
