STRIPTEASE
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1996 Michael John Legeros
(Columbia)
Directed by Andrew Bergman
Written by Andrew Berman, based on the novel by Carl Hiaasen
Cast Demi Moore, Burt Reynolds, Ving Rhames, Armand Assante,
Robert Patrick
MPAA Rating "R" (presumably for nudity, sexual content, and
language)
Running Time 115 minutes
Reviewed at Waverly Place Cinemas, Cary, NC (28JUN96)
==
This one gets my vote as Worst Movie of the Year. Robert Patrick (TERMINATOR 2), of all people, gives the most consistently credible performance. He plays the white-trash husband whose costly custody battle has forced his wife (Demi Moore), a former FBI clerk, to start stripping as means to meet ends. At least, that's why we *think* she's doing it. Incredulously, the director-- Andrew Bergman (HONEYMOON IN VEGAS), adapting from the novel by Carl Hiaasen -- simply cuts from the courtroom to the dressing room! Moore mumbles something about "needing the money" and that's all we get in the way of character motivation. Period. Robert Patrick is pleasantly distracting for a while, as is Ving Rhymes' occasionally scene-stealing bouncer-of-few-words. Ms. Moore, on the other hand, gives an intensely coarse performance that's probably too serious for what this movie had in mind. She's no fun to watch.
How an ordinary Miami mom ends up with such a buffed bod is never explained, either. (Perhaps she is working to pay off her trainer and plastic surgeon, as well?) There's also the small matter of Burt Reynolds' corrupt congressman. Slurring his way through a bad Brando impersonation, Reynolds embarrasses himself more than any bad toupee ever did. Ugh. Who knows what this unwatchable mess looked like before the test audiences got hold of it? (A reshot ending bumped the movie from a planned Memorial Day release.) If nothing else-- and as Ms. Moore's rote bumping and grinding can attest to-- STRIPTEASE proves one point, conclusively: that even SHOWGIRLS star Elizabeth Berkley can do something better than the highest paid actress in Hollywood. Bless her heart.
Grade: F
--
Mike Legeros - Raleigh, NC
legeros@nando.net (h) - legeros@unx.sas.com (w)
Visit me in MOVIE HELL
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