Striptease
Striptease
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Striptease is a 1996 drama based on the adult Carl Hiaasen novel Strip Tease. A lot of scenes are of topless women dancing erotically in g-strings or thongs. There's some sexual innuendo, some expectation that sex will happen, and frank talk about things like erections, but no romance or sex itself is shown. Violence is mostly cartoonish, but there's some hitting with a golf club, an axe, and a shoe; blood is briefly shown, but isn't gory. A dead body with a partially eaten away face is briefly shown. Guns and knives are brandished and a few guns are fired. Strong language includes "f--king," "s--t," "d--k," "t--ts," and various euphemisms like "poontang," "hoo-haw," and "pecker." Many scenes take place in a strip club and show background drinking and smoking. A couple of important characters smoke cigars and cigarettes. One character is said to be addicted to pills and is seen popping morphine pills prescribed for a pet by a veterinarian. A conversation about Prozac mentions that it makes you happy but gives you a "limp noodle." Diverse cast.
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What's the Story?
STRIPTEASE is about Erin Grant (Demi Moore), a woman who lost her job with the FBI because of her husband Darrell's criminal record. The couple divorce, but a judge awards custody of their young daughter (Rumer Willis) to Darrell (Robert Patrick). Determined to appeal the decision, Erin takes the only job she can get, which is as a topless dancer in a strip club, in order to save up enough money for the appeal. An unscrupulous congressman (Burt Reynolds) becomes obsessed Erin, which puts her in the crosshairs of a powerful, corrupt family anxious to get the congressman re-elected and firmly in their back pocket.
Is It Any Good?
This movie has a very charismatic and mostly very talented cast, which you'd think would've made it easy to create a pretty decent movie. Unfortunately, Striptease falls utterly short on just about every front. There are two main problems not even the talented cast could overcome. The first is a razor-thin premise covering a barely breathing plot, which add to the sense that the movie is little more than a flimsy excuse for the extended and frequent topless scenes. The other main problem is that it can't seem to decide whether it's a drama or a comedy. Instead of effectively combining elements of both, it switches gears abruptly and awkwardly, losing emotional range and failing to help the comedic bits stick their landings.
It could be an opportunity to talk with mature teens about things like the difference between a stripper and a dancer, whether the women performers are exploited or empowered, society's attitudes toward women and their bodies, why many people link exotic dancing with prostitution, etc. But the overall flimsiness of the movie makes it far from an ideal starting point.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the sexual content in Striptease. Why do you think a strip club is such an important setting? Would the movie be as interesting if the setting were anywhere else?
What are your own values about nudity in media like movies, TV, video games, etc.? Is it a big deal? Are there times when it's OK, and times when it's not? What's the difference?
What about the strong language? How much is OK in movies and other media? Is it a big deal? Why or why not?
Movie Details
- In theaters: June 28, 1996
- On DVD or streaming: July 27, 1999
- Cast: Demi Moore, Burt Reynolds, Armand Assante, Ving Rhames
- Director: Andrew Bergman
- Studio: Columbia Pictures
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: Arts and Dance
- Run time: 115 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: Nudity, erotic dancing, and language.
- Last updated: October 8, 2022
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