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It's hard to know how to take Striptease. Should you take it, as a comedy or drama. Here you get little of each. Getting over that very raunchy, commercial, and flamboyant Verhoeven effort, Showgirls the year before, the strip show circuit, is thrown back in our faces again, where what we have here, instead, is a story, only this movie is less captivating, or enticing. Fighting for custody of her daughter, against her white trash alcoholic ex, (Patrick in one of his best performances) our hot Demi, such eye candy in black lingerie, goes back to what she does best, stripping, so she can earn enough to get herself a good lawyer and have permanent custody of her angel. This only scratches the surface of the story, involving murder, of an overweight, drooling customer, who tries to help Demi out of her pickle, bringing the attention of a good natured cop (Assante very good, but wasted here). After all the body, practically landed on Assante's doorstep. Of course the scene stealer is Burt, as a crooked congressman, who really has a kinky side to him, sporting different disguises when he frequents strips clubs. But we all have our kinks. His performance can be seen as terrible, or terribly great if you can grasp that concept. It's sad he got a Stinker award, whatever as this character is the furtherest from Burt, we've ever seen, as he's not Burt. Demi does really work the stage well though, like a pro, and we almost see all of Demi. She's As an actress here, though, she's done better, Disclosure, solid evidence of that. We too have a hot stripper actress from Showgirls, as well as other hotties. We have a really cute and funny, chimpanzee, could be the same one from Monkey Trouble, for all I know. Unfortunately Striptease, is a film, that just have that spark, or take off. But if you like nudity and comedy, hey, you could very well like this. Oh, also, if you're an Annie Lennox fan too.
ironhorse_iv
While this movie was pretty known in the 1990s, for being one of the several movies where Demi Moore appears topless, it's probably more memorable, today for having been panned by the critics and winning several Razzie Awards, including "Worst Picture of 1996" than anything else. After all, not a lot of Millennials, might know, who Demi Moore is, since she pretty much, barely acts, these days. Directed, produced, and written by Andrew Bergman, Striptease tells the story of Erin Grant (Demi Moore), former FBI secretary/single mother who has turned to stripping to earn enough money to gain legal custody of her young daughter, Angela (Rumer Willis), while also finding herself, matching wits with a lustful United States Congressman, David Dillbeck (Burt Reynolds), and his powerful corporate backer, Malcolm Moldowsky (Paul Guilfoyle) in order to get her job back with the FBI. Without spoiling the movie, too much, I have to say, the movie is somewhat directionless. It doesn't know, if it wants to be, a political thriller, or a sex comedy. There were a lot of pointless scenes that really goes, nowhere that weren't exciting, nor funny. If that wasn't bad, enough, the plot for this movie doesn't make much logic in real-world sense. Honestly, what type of a judge, allows a criminal with a record, visitation rights, much less sole custody, because the other one is a stripper? I get that, the book explains it by saying that the local cops buried Erin's ex-husband, Darrell (Robert Patrick)'s record when he agreed to be an informant, however, that probably wouldn't happen in real life as well. I have to say, there is a huge difference, between the film version of 'Striptease' and the 1993 novel of the same name, by Carl Hiaasen, as well, despite some critics, playing the screenplay is pretty faithful to the book, which it is not. One of the biggest difference is that, the environmental message has been left out. There is little to no mention of the subplot about the plutocracy of sugar growers in Florida, and the exorbitant subsidies regularly granted to them by the U.S. Congress. Another big change that the film did, is how a lot of supporting characters of the novels were either demoted to nameless cameos, or cut from the film, all together. A good example of this, is the character, Joyce Mizner, who played, a semi big part, as the fiancée of the man, Dilbeck attacks, but as of my knowledge, doesn't appear in the film. Honestly, whatever, did happen to her? Another change from the novel, is what happen to Erin's ex-husband, Darrell toward the end. I get that, there were concerns that the ending of the film, being too dark, not comical enough; but all of these rewrites and reshoots, did nothing, but cause delays & make the ending, somewhat anticlimax. It wasn't good. I get that, audience didn't want, Burt Reynolds to be, a violent villain, but how can, Reynolds show that he is a good actor, if he only plays over the top comical characters. It really does limited his acting range and somewhat typecast him. Because of that, I really couldn't get behind, this cartoony Congressman character, at all. It was really, nothing new from the actor. Not only that, but his character does a lot of annoying, and somewhat too gross & pervy things, I really didn't want to see. All of the jokes, with him, really does fall flat. It was a little too, much for me to take, much like Robert Patrick's character, who I also easily equally dislike. Honestly, if there was one character, that I somewhat like, from this film, it has to be the bouncer, Shad (Ving Rhames). While Ving Rhames's acting is mediocre, at best, with his stone-cold expression. At least, he's one of the only actors in the film, that didn't make a fool of themselves, along with the other, being Paul Guilfoyle & Armand Assante as FBI agent, Al Garcia. Then, there is Demi Moore, whom dour acting in this, is mostly meh. It's just so jarring and awkward to see, her single-parent plot, be, taken so serious, compare everything else. It felt like too different types of movies, here, being mixed together. Maybe, if she had more flair, it could had help the movie, but it really wouldn't matter. Her character was so badly written, so I can't say, she's the worst thing about this film, because she's clearly not. Her sex appeal is the only one that keeps this movie from falling apart and somewhat marketable. Still, Demi Moore kinda ruin movie's much-advertised nudity and eroticism, by promoting this film, looking like a masculine butch than a femme woman. I get that, she was filming 1997's 'G.I Jane' at the time. However, her muscle bound frame and bald head were really distracting, and made people, more interested in finding out, what 'G.I Jane' was about, than what 'Striptease' was telling us. No wonder, why this movie failed at the box office. It also didn't help that this film was association with the previous year's film about nude dancers, 1995's 'Showgirls'. Both films were highly criticize, for its sleazy premise, and because of that, some critics were a little too judgmental on the subject matter. In my opinion, I don't think the movie is the worst. The stripteases sequence are choreographed to present the strippers as seasoned pros, indifferent to their nudity and disdainful of their customers. However, due to the awkward humor and somewhat unlikeable characters. I can somewhat agree. This film is not good. It's a movie in limbo.
