Striptease (1996)

A stripper and single mother gets dragged into a dangerous situation after a congressman takes a fancy to her. Striptease is not meant to be taken seriously i mean Burt's perfomance was over the top and it was meant to be like that. The comedic element was also made on purpose and unlike films like 50 Shades for instance this film has nostalgia and the 90's all over it and is better filmed and has a better sex appeal than most film people give it credit for. It's not the best film of the 90's and it's definitely not Demi Moore's best movie but it's not her worst one either. (A+)

A former FBI secretary now turned stripper gets involved in a dangerous high-level game which involves a soon to be elected congressman. In order to regain the right to take care of her daughter, helped by a determined detective, she becomes an inside man who must uncover crimes of dangerous people.It's an average movie, with a below average story, which is as superficial as it is predictable. The actors, except the main one which is OK, do an average job, consolidating the overall low-budget feel of this movie. As upsides, it is very sensual, the main character being a stripper at a famous club, and funny through the characters' stupidity. It manages to not make you yawn until the end which is a good thing but it's still an average movie in every aspect.

The 90's saw a lot of comedic fluff come and go, some memorable, others not so much, and some nestled in that perfect, laid back place just between. Striptease falls into that category; it's not that eventful, but provides an enjoyable diversion with the help of a cast that's clearly having fun, and a reliably solid lead performance from the always fantastic Demi Moore. Here she plays a stripper doing her vest to raise her young daughter (Rumer Willis, Demi's real life daughter with Bruce Willis) right without much money or help. Moore is gifted in the fact that she can play the nastiest chicks just as proficiently as the more innocent good girls, and every area of gray in between. Here she's clearly got a good heart and has been obligated to enter her line of work trough her devotion to her daughter. That and it makes for a sexy character quirk to keep audiences perked. She's also attempting to avoid her deadbeat, dim bulb ex husband Daryl (Robert Patrick) who steals wheelchairs and sells them lol. She gets caught up in a dangerous blackmailing situation when a cheerfully alcoholic congressman (Burt Reynolds) takes a shine to her one night, and is forced to turn to sympathetic cop Al Garcia (Armand Assante) and bodyguard Shad (Ving Rhames) for help. It's slight, breezy stuff and although it's not the greatest movie, I was charmed by Demi and the happy go lucky tone that it keeps up. Having her real daughter in the film also really strengthens their scenes with a dynamic that you wouldn't otherwise get.

Striptease (1996): Dir: Andrew Bergman / Cast: Demi Moore, Ving Rhames, Burt Reynolds, Robert Patrick, Armand Assante: What woman is stupid enough to believe that this film is helping their image? Title indicates that this morbid entertainment is an illusion or a tease. Demi Moore loses a child custody battle so she bares her boobies for cash. She is the centre of attention of a drunken congressman who is so obsessed with her that he has items of her clothing stolen. Eventually he offers her a large sum of money to dance for him privately. He soaks himself in Vaseline and lusts after her. Too many erotic dance sequences and too little plot. Locations and costumes have appeal but structure is predictable. Director Andrew Bergman used similar themes in Honeymoon in Vegas but his talent here is uninspiring. Moore basically prostitutes herself in facing what many strippers are up against but she isn't doing herself any favours. She has never looked more stunning but that is all part of the tease. Burt Reynolds is amusing yet unreadable as the congressman overcome and overthrown by lust. Ving Rhames plays the stereotypical bodyguard. Robert Patrick is given the thankless role of ex-husband whose final scenes are embarrassing. Armand Assante plays a cop who should be searching for a decent script for Mr. Assante. Mindless circus act serves only as a cheesy erotic peep show. Score: 2 / 10