Striptease isn’t a good movie yet at the same time I have to admire the energy Demi Moore and the supporting cast brought despite a poorly written screenplay.
Striptease
— Unrated International Version —
(1996)
Genre(s): Drama, Comedy, Crime
Warner Bros. | Unrated – 117 min. – $19.99 | March 6, 2012
Date Published: 03/03/2012 | Author: The Movieman
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Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 2.0/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Erin Grant (DEMI MOORE) must face the truth: to take on the system, she must first take it off. Let go from her job – thanks to the criminal history of her loser ex-husband (ROBERT PATRICK) –, she resorts to stripping in order to earn money to get back custody of her child. When a lecherous Congressman (BURT REYNOLDS) fixates on her, Erin must face unintended consequences, including blackmail and murder. With the help of perhaps the only Miami cop (ARMAND ASSANTE) interested in helping her, plans are set in motion to get her back on track. Striptease, like Showgirls before it, is recognized more as a bad movie with T-N-A but unlike Showgirls, it features what was a respectable actress in Demi Moore (versus the teen star Elizabeth Berkley) taking it off more than once all for a half-assed story which is tedious at best. However, and it all depends on what you like, this movie doesn’t take itself too seriously with outlandish scenes and, especially, characters. The film was adapted off the novel of the same name by the director Andrew Bergman (It Could Happen to You) and from what I’ve read; Striptease the movie version doesn’t have a whole lot in common with the novel save for the basic premise. Now, as with most film adaptations, I can only go off the actual movie and even on that front, this is not a very good film. I will give credit to 1990s Demi Moore for once again taking a chance on a risky role (the next year she would star in Ridley Scott’s military thriller, G.I. Jane) and baring it all for the world to see (on that note, she does look amazing, naked or not) but sadly once again the story falls flat. Despite any problems the script might’ve had, Moore plays the character with a certain strength and vulnerability, only to be masked by some lame comedic moments. As for the supporting cast, it’s a more or less respectable group from the ever reliable Ving Rhames (released after Mission Impossible), Robert Patrick (who seemed to be in on the joke), Armand Assante (in a limited role) and, of course, Burt Reynolds who put another notch in his fading career. All in all, Striptease is surprisingly not as awful as I heard but it sure as hell isn’t very good either. The so-called plot is just a step above the crapfest known as Showgirls but that’s not saying much. If there’s any reason to see this, it’s for the obvious reason, otherwise just pass it on by. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 0.5/5 |
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The only feature on this disc is the Theatrical Trailer (1:57). |
VIDEO – 3.0/5 |
| Striptease makes its debut on Blu-ray with an OK looking 1080p high-def transfer. The movie is presented with a 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio (originally 1.85) and while it’s probably better than its DVD counterpart, it’s still not a pretty looking picture. First, I believe I saw a halo effect so some edge enhancement might’ve been used, but even so, the darker scenes (for which there are many), it exposes a fair amount of artifacting or pixilation. Also, the detail level isn’t the best but the color array seems decent enough without looking oversaturated. |
AUDIO – 4.25/5 |
| The disc does boast a strong 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track that really picks up during the music scenes (i.e. at the “gentlemen’s club”) where it shows off some good depth. The dialogue is also pretty good keeping at a consistent level primarily via the center speaker while other audio (like the score) makes use of the front and rear channels. It may not be an incredible lossless track, it’s still fairly impressive. |
OVERALL – 2.0/5 |
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Overall, Striptease isn’t a good movie yet at the same time I have to admire the energy Demi Moore and the supporting cast brought despite a poorly written screenplay. There’s only one reason the movie even has any staying power today and from that point of view, I suppose it doesn’t disappoint because Demi Moore is gorgeous, but if you’re looking ofr a half-decent plot, then forget about it. |