geoff-29

A brutally effective look at the lifestyle of exotic dancers: plastic surgery, self-esteem issues, rationalizations, attempts to quit. Illustrates the wide gap between male and female sexuality, especially at strip clubs.

The documentary has poor production values, and most material was taken from just one group interview. It seems like a project that was abandoned for a while, then hurriedly completed.

On the other hand, the movie is structured well, with the relatively positive viewpoint early in the movie turning, on an outsider's experiences, into a more finely-tuned portrait in the second half.

Even despite its shortcomings, a very powerful documentary.

Basic gets partial credit for trying to set the World Record for plot twists, and for focusing more on psychological drama than on violence. But the movie relies on Connie Nielsen, and she's just not up to the task. Whether it's the Atlanta-on-the-fjord accent or the non-facial expressions, she drags the movie down.

Also, this movie fails the three minute test: thinking about the movie for three minutes after it ends, you realize that the whole thing is needlessly complex.

Travolta is great, the guy from Wings isn't bad, Giovanni Ribisi is great (of course), Harry Connick Jr is fine too. With all of the great actresses in the world, it's too bad they ended up with someone who was a detriment.

There are some moving scenes, and the characters seem to have some life in them, but overall this Boy-Meets-Job movie loses its way too often.

Plot details that seem important are never mentioned again. Relationships are neither clarified nor advanced. People seem to be struggling, but it's unclear what they're struggling against. It's an interesting mess, but a mess all the same.