Stripped Bare

He's Big, He's Bad and He's Going to Rock Your World. . .

A Strip Off the Old Block ---------------------------
Strippers? In movies? Well, that sounds like a Friday night in with the beers and the boys. But, hold it just one second - have you ever stopped to think that exotic dancer films may serve a higher purpose? Have you ever paused to consider that these flicks have an important impact on cinema and the way we watch?
If you answered 'no' to any of the above questions then fear not - as I've done the worrying for you.
Firstly, ignore, if you can, the obvious 'Adult' stripper movies which can be found by those who stand on their tippy-toes to reach up to those hard-to-reach shelves in their local video store. These are not the features that I am talking about. Although, even the classier, mainstream stripper films today tend to "flesh" out a bare plot with bare bodies.
Right, now that we have excluded the majority of Shannon Tweed's career - take 'Striptease.' Admittedly, Demi Moore appears to pick her movie roles whilst blindfolded in a very dark room, but this one certainly took the biscuit for being the dumbest. The men attracted to this film were, bottom line, there to see her best (and expensive) assets.
Her plastic surgeon should have received a credit for 'special effects.' Apparently an early version of the cast and crew listing at the end of 'Striptease' simply read: "Tit #1" and "Tit #2." Could you imagine the Oscar speech? "We would like to thank Demi for having us surgically enhanced." Although, joking aside, the dynamic duo still doesn't Demi Dennis

explain the number of tits who packed out cinemas for weeks. Here we have your plain, old, run-of-the-mill stripper movie. Lights, music and clothes fall off on cue; the Director crosses his legs with a curious, uplifting smile on his face... Here Ms Moore, a stripper and single mother gets dragged into a dangerous situation after a congressman takes a fancy to her. Plenty of time for T&A but then something went wrong (or right). Men weren't oohing and aahing and grabbing their crotches with lust; they were too busy clutching their bellies, aching with mirth.
Forget test audiences - the real ones made it clear that they didn't buy that this film's genre was erotic-suspense. No, this was the funniest thing since 'Caddyshack' to them. Striptease was so bad, and trying so desperately to be sexy and saucy, that it was funny.
The film's tagline: "Some People Get Into Trouble No Matter What They WEAR" was quickly changed by marketers to fit in with the (unintentional) audience reactions. The tagline became: "A comedy in the last place you expect to find one." Which is exactly what the studio had on their hands.
In the past, stripper movies more often than not got laughed off the screen. It's a hard subject area to cover especially if you're going to play it straight. 'Exotica' managed to pull in an arty crowd by filming the schoolgirl-uniformed stripper at wonky angles. It's art, you see.
Nevertheless, if men really want to see nude ladies nowadays they can nip to a lap dancing venue down the road instead of forking out 8 bucks to watch the sweaty grinding on a screen 20 feet away. Which highlights something amusing, and deeply ironic, about the idea that viewers would congregate in a dark theatre to get their sexual kicks watching a topless and oversexualised Hollywood star shake "her thang."
Perhaps that explains the nervous laughter. I mean, how can you not laugh? It's silly to be told by the big-screen big-wigs that "this is sexy - you must be turned on" whilst being in such close proximity to your fellow movie-watchers. Excepting Pee Wee Herman, most find it a real turn-off being seduced in a public movie house by celluloid images, and as awkward as trying to pee while someone else is waiting behind you.
Thus, Striptease was forced to change tact when audiences failed to feel suspense from the action or arousal from the erotic dancing - instead Demi had them rolling in the aisles, quite unintentionally. Either way, eventually it made back some of the money and Moore, once again, managed to escape another perilous career move.
Around the same time as Striptease, Showgirls was released. Directed by master of shock Paul Verhoeven and written by buddy Joe Eszterhas, this film suffered a similar fate. The viewing public spread word to Hollywood execs that mainstream porn is not, as they portray, the silver screen version of Viagra but quite comedic instead.
Showgirls was, in complete honesty, abominable by most people's standards. Starring ex-Saved by the Bell belle and all round goodie two shoes Elizabeth Berkley (cue audience: "Is that really A.C. Slater's girlfriend?!") as a serial-stripper. Within five minutes of screen time it becomes clear to "the people at home" that her role actually demands more nudity than humanly possible - unless, of course, you turn the poor actress inside out.
The tag line was: "Leave your inhibitions at the door." It probably should have said, "Leave your brains at the door," but instead nobody even made it to the door.
'Shock horror!', the story of a young dancer's adventures as a dancer/stripper in Las Vegas, had them avoiding a night at the movies to such an extent it was like anthrax had been found in the popcorn supply. It was a flop - in more ways than one obviously.
Why? Well, those watching their backs in Hollywood blamed the 'dirty mac effect'; the men didn't want to be 'spotted' by wives/girlfriends/co-workers entering the multiplex theatre to watch a reputed nudey pic.
However, years ago, strippers in films didn't have the reputation they have now. Take the film Gypsy (1962), a stripper movie that was out of its league. Natalie Wood starred in this tale of how an older sister, Louise Hovick, rose above her little sister's shadow, Dainty June and vaudeville, to become the 1930's burlesque Queen, Gypsy Rose Lee. Its heart was unbelievable - here was a stripper film with a plot. And it worked.
Gypsy was nominated for three Oscars and won Golden Globe recognition. A genuine stripper flick that was taken seriously; Gypsy was ahead of its time and is still ahead of its recent competition for the crown of best strip-flick.
Yet, some of the best stripteases in cinematic history probably haven't appeared in a movie about strippers and definitely haven't featured in a film starring Elizabeth Berkeley.
Hitchcock, for example, broke cinematic ground when he stripped Janet Leigh down to her black undies in 'Psycho' (which also featured the first shot of a toilet). This was a moment that was sexy, feminine, erotic, suspenseful and meaningful. The female form as a loaded weapon ready to go off at any moment. Successors like 'Showgirls' are mere duds.
Recent strips in movies are sadly motivated by pay checks and not artistic merit. Halle Berry for one, whipped up a storm by whipping out her breasts in 'Swordfish' - all in the name of money, of course.
Moulin Rouge, like Gypsy, an Oscar hopeful, managed to deal with the world of burlesque tastefully, artfully, creatively and passionately. More so than the Russ Meyer projects of the sixties where every stripper was portrayed as a sex-crazed nymphet.
So, with such a diverse cross-section of stripper characters, what can we draw from their past and possible cinematic future? Well, without a doubt, they are a much-loved breed of character. As sex sells, or so Hollywood believes, strippers are always popular with screenwriters to incorporate a promiscuous or habitually naked body-beautiful.
Ultimately it is always a gamble to make a stripper film. Artists who bare more than their soul must hope that their episode in movie history will be sexy, seducing and erotic - and not a sidesplitting riot. Although there is something to be said for a memorable performance - good or bad. But, at the end of the day, their risk is a great one, with the odds stacking against them.
Perhaps if this genre of movie goes back to the tradition of its hey-day, Gypsy, who was the great grandmother of all strippers, then maybe the erotic dancers of the future will have the last laugh. DD

Homepage | Features