Based on a decent novel by Carl Hiaasen, Striptease is a dumbed-down-for-the-masses vehicle for Demi Moore, who got $12.5 million to play a stripper who wants to regain custody of her daughter from Robert Patrick, a slimeball who steals wheelchairs to make a quick buck. Even though she dances like Elizabeth Berkeley in Showgirls, Moore comes to the attention of Dave Dilbeck (Burt Reynolds), a Congressman with a weakness for titty bars and murdering his opponents, causing her to wonder aloud, How did I get so popular? (how, indeed?). When Dave invites her to dance for him on her yacht, she storms out after he confesses to stealing (and making love to) her laundry lint, and if that sounds lame and silly, its just the tip of the iceberg in a film that mistakes shameless mugging for comic timing and often substitutes airless drama for jokes. Having previously bombed in a freely adapted version of The Scarlet Letter, Demi badly needed a hit, but Striptease grossed only $33 million during its theatrical run. It did, however, win her a Razzie award for Worst Actress.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
