Stripper Movies
Magic Mike.
In honor of Magic Mike, Steven Soderbergh’s new movie about male exotic dancers, inspired by star Channing Tatum’s early career as a stripper when he was 19, I decided to come up with a quick list of movies featuring strippers. Four are good, one is bad (the infamous Showgirls), but they all take it off in some form.
Gypsy (1962)
While this all time favorite musical presents a G-rated (and we don’t mean G-string!) version of exotic dancers, it is after all based on the life of classy exotic dancer Gypsy Rose Lee. How can you not love a stripper musical that includes the song “You Gotta Have A Gimmick,” including the lyric, “Bump it with a trumpet.” With Rosalind Russell and Natalie Wood.
The Full Monty (1996)
A group of laid off Yorkshire mill workers come up with a unique way to earn some money in this amusing British comedy about going the full monty, British slang for totally nude. Their wives and girlfriends are appalled at first, but warm up to the idea of their blokes as sexpots. With Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson.
Showgirls (1995)
Director Paul Verhoeven’s look at a stripper (played by Elizabeth Berkeley) who longs to join a classier chorus line as a Las Vegas showgirl. Yes, it’s mostly bad but I love Gina Gershon.
Burlesque (2010)
I guess this counts as a guilty pleasure. I loved Cher as the owner of a strip club and Christine Aguilera as the out-of-town hick who longs to be up there singing and dancing in this more high class look at exotic dancers.
Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)
Judi Dench has the title role in this amusing look at a widow who purchases the rundown and struggling Windmill Theatre in 1930s-40s London. She hires Vivian Van Damm (Bob Hoskins) as the theatre’s manager and together they decide to keep up the spirit of war torn London with a racy but tasteful nude revue. It’s tons of fun.
Tags: Magic Mike, stripper movies
