The 15 Best Stripper Movies You Have To Watch Right Now

Summary

• Stripper movies offer insight into the exotic dancing industry, showcasing artistry and humanity behind the business.
• Films like Magic Mike and Hustlers make legitimate commentary on stripping, using it as a backdrop for compelling stories.
• Each film in this subgenre offers a unique take on larger societal issues, from empowerment to the stigma of the profession.

Long derided by so-called “polite society,” stripper movies often pull back the curtain on the exotic dancing industry and show the artistry and humanity behind the business. Whether stripping is merely a gimmick to sell tickets, or the film makes legitimate commentary on the art form, stripper movies have grown and changed as moral standards shift. At their heart, films about stripping use the art form as a backdrop to tell compelling stories, and they often say a lot about larger issues in society.

Many movies about stripping put exotic dance at the forefront of their stories, and those films have offered a mixed bag of quality, from award-winners to notoriously panned flops. Additionally, stripper movies often also cross over into other forms of dance, with some of the best dance movies involving stripping as their main subject. As with any other art form, stripper movies are ultimately about expression, and though there are common plot threads across the subgenre, each offers a compellingly original take on the once controversial profession.

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15 Striptease (1996)

Starring Demi Moore

Striptease (1996) R

Director Andrew Bergman Release Date June 23, 1996 Cast Demi Moore , Armand Assante , Ving Rhames , Robert Patrick , burt reynolds Runtime 117 Minutes

The 1990s saw an increased fascination with exotic dance as an art form, and many stripper movies during that era began to take the business seriously. In the case of Striptease, ex-FBI assistant Erin (Demi Moore) begins stripping to earn money to regain custody of her daughter, but she soon runs afoul of David Dilbeck (Burt Reynolds), a local politician who desires her.

Now a beloved piece of ’90s cheese, Striptease was lambasted by critics for its overt melodrama and ham-fisted approach to the art of stripping. The negative reception to it sadly impacted Moore’s career, effectively ending her time as one of Hollywood’s A-listers. Nevertheless, the film never failed to entertain and Moore shined alongside a surprisingly villainous turn for Reynolds. The movie also became a box office success despite the critical reception, earning $113 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo).

14 Dancing At The Blue Iguana (2000)

Starring Daryl Hannah

Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000) R

Director Michael Radford Release Date September 14, 2000 Cast Charlotte Ayanna , Daryl Hannah , Sheila Kelley , Elias Koteas , Vladimir Mashkov , Sandra Oh , Jennifer Tilly , Robert Wisdom Runtime 123 Minutes

Though a bit verbose, Dancing at the Blue Iguana attempted to show the harsh realities of the world of exotic dance, while largely ignoring the art form itself. The indie hit centers on dancers at the Blue Iguana Club, with a strong cast featuring Sandra Oh, Daryl Hannah, Jennifer Tilly, Charlotte Ayanna, and Sheila Kelley, who each yearn for a better life.

Despite being unfair to the profession, the film offered enough compelling storylines to stay interesting, and the acting was top-notch. While many stripper movies try to peel back the veneer and show the “real dancing business,” Dancing at the Blue Iguana was hit or miss.

One of the most interesting aspects of the movie is the accompanying documentary made by Hannah called Strip Notes, which details her research into this world to prepare for her role. It makes for a fascinating double-feature look at this world.

13 Magic Mike’s Last Dance (2023)

Starring Channing Tatum

Magic Mike’s Last Dance Where to Watch

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Director Steven Soderbergh Release Date February 10, 2023 Studio(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Writers Reid Carolin Cast Channing Tatum , Caitlin Gerard , Salma Hayek Pinault Expand

Closing out the trilogy of Magic Mike films, Magic Mike’s Last Dance was a mostly satisfying conclusion to the beloved series of stripper movies. Mike (Channing Tatum) has taken to bartending after his business went bust but he is lured to London by socialite Maxandra (Salma Hayek) to perform once again.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance
offered closure for the series that spanned a decade…

Like the previous installments, Last Dance had plenty of scintillating dancing and didn’t abandon the human element behind the performers. Despite the fact that the movie saw original director Steven Soderbergh returning to the franchise, the third movie fell somewhat short of the previous films in terms of box office and critical reception. The story was considered somewhat flat comparatively and was a more understated conclusion than the trilogy perhaps demanded.

Regardless, Magic Mike’s Last Dance offered closure for the series that spanned a decade. It is also interesting to look at characters who have aged out of the erotic dance profession with Mike still having a passion for it and finding a way to continue to embrace his talents.

12 The Players Club (1998)

Starring LisaRaye McCoy

The Players Club (1998) R

Director Ice Cube Release Date April 10, 1998 Cast LisaRaye , Bernie Mac , Monica Calhoun , A. J. Johnson , Ice Cube , Alex Thomas , Jamie Foxx , John Amos Runtime 104 Minutes

Though The Players Club featured a stock-standard story seen in many stripper movies, the details were what made it a legitimately engaging film. Diana (LisaRaye McCoy) strips to support her family while also keeping on the straight and narrow by helping younger strippers make it in the business.

Deftly blending its comedy and its drama, The Players Club featured a stellar cast of Black stars from the late 1990s. Never dipping into melodramatics, Diana’s story is both interesting and uplifting, and the story is realistic and fair to those in the profession.

The movie was directed by rap star Ice Cube, who also stars, and features some amazing talent, including Jamie Foxx, Bernie Mac, and Terrence Howard. The Players Club has been praised for its insight into the lives of these characters as well as LisaRaye’s performance that elevates the project. The movie marks Ice Cube’s only directorial feature, but he was praised by critics like Roger Ebert for his balancing of the film’s many different styles (via RogerEbert.com)

11 From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Starring Salma Hayek

From Dusk Till Dawn Where to Watch

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Director Robert Rodriguez Release Date January 19, 1996 Studio(s) Dimension Films Distributor(s) MiraMax Writers Quentin Tarantino Cast Quentin Tarantino , Juliette Lewis , George Clooney , Ernest Liu , Harvey Keitel Expand

Stripping is only one small part of From Dusk Till Dawn, written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Robert Rodriguez, but it serves as the turning point for the film. On the run from the law, the Gecko brothers flee to Mexico and find themselves at a bar that is a haven for vampires.

From Dusk Till Dawn hilarious changes genres halfway through, going from a crime thriller to a monster movie. Salma Hayek’s lengthy strip sequence was largely meant to titillate the audience, but it also served as the transition in the story where the horror began. Hayek helps to make the moment truly iconic with her hypnotic performance feeling seductive yet also foreboding as the audience gets the sense danger is building even if they can’t predict how weird things are going to get.

The movie itself is an impressive mix of the two collaborators. The first half of the film shines as a brutal yet entertaining crime saga mirroring Tarantino’s previous movies. The second part is where Rodriguez’s style is found with the outlandish and cartoonish horror elements. It makes for a truly unique genre mash-up.

10 Chocolate City (2015)

Starring Robert Ri’chard

Chocolate City Where to Watch

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Director Jean-Claude La Marre Release Date May 22, 2015 Cast Robert Ri’chard , Vivica A. Fox , DeRay Davis , Michael Jai White , Tyson Beckford , Darrin Dewitt Henson

One of the biggest complaints about the wildly successful Magic Mike franchise was that it lacked a diverse range of characters, and had an almost exclusively white cast. Chocolate City arrives to rectify that problem and follows Michael (Robert Ri’chard) who has a lucrative career as a stripper but struggles with the stigma of his profession.

While delivering plenty of memorable strip scenes, Chocolate City also touched on the backward way in which large swaths of society look down on strippers. Unlike other stripper movies which show a desperate side to the art form, Chocolate City is a celebration that takes time to make salient points about acceptance.

Indeed, the movie does feel like it addresses an aspect of this world that Magic Mike was overlooking. Though a much smaller movie, Chocolate City gained enough of the following that the sequel, Chocolate City: Vegas Strip, followed in 2017.

9 Zola (2021)

Starring Taylour Paige & Riley Keough

Zola Where to Watch

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Director Janicza Bravo Release Date June 30, 2021 Writers Janicza Bravo , Jeremy O. Harris Cast Colman Domingo , Taylour Paige , Nicholas Braun , Riley Keough

Zola is an interesting movie as it is based on a viral Twitter thread from 2015. That original thread was from by Aziah “Zola” King and the story is about Zola, a waitress/stripper who is convinced to take a road trip to Tampa, which descends into chaos. The real facts remain somewhat unbelievable, but the movie only takes the basis of the tweets to form the skeleton of the plot. Despite the fact that a movie based on tweets might sound gimmicky and rather thin, Zola has surprised a lot of people.

Taylour Paige, who plays Zola, won the Best Female Lead at the awards ceremony.

The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was up for the Grand Jury Prize and hit theaters in 2021. It was a huge success, earning seven Independent Spirit Awards nominations, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Taylour Paige, who plays Zola, won the Best Female Lead at the awards ceremony. The movie also earned praise for how honestly it addresses the dangers that women in this industry can face.

8 Sin City (2005)

Starring Jessica Alba

Sin City Where to Watch

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Director Robert Rodriguez , Quentin Tarantino , Frank Miller Release Date April 1, 2005 Studio(s) MiraMax Distributor(s) MiraMax Writers Frank Miller Cast Rosario Dawson , Bruce Willis , Jessica Alba , Elijah Wood , Benicio Del Toro , Clive Owen Expand

Frank Miller’s neo-noir comic hit Sin City stumbled a bit on its way to the big screen, but the adaptation ultimately captured the gritty spirit of the famed writer’s original vision. Narrated by a mysterious salesman (Josh Hartnett), the film weaves a trilogy of tales involving the city’s grimy underbelly.

Nancy (Jessica Alba) is shown in a scene to have taken up stripping to make ends meet, and the film has a less-than-flattering view of the profession. Nevertheless, the non-superhero comic book movie reflected the classic noir films that spawned it, and the unique comic book visuals submerged the viewer in a one-of-a-kind cinematic world.

The movie is not meant to be a realistic look at the exotic dancer profession, in fact, its entire tone is an elevated crime saga with gruesome characters and over-the-top violence. It only makes sense that Kadie’s Saloon is a hub in a city like this where a lot of these characters intersect.

Jessica Alba’s Nancy returned for the sequel,
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

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7 Closer (2004)

Starring Natalie Portman

Closer (2004)

Director Mike Nichols Release Date December 3, 2004 Writers Patrick Marber Cast Julia Roberts , Jude Law , Natalie Portman , Clive Owen , Colin Stinton

Director Mike Nichols weaved a complicated tale of romance and intrigue in Closer and delivered one of the most unique stripper movies as well. An American stripper named Alice (Natalie Portman) moves to London and begins a relationship with Dan (Jude Law), who eventually drifts away from her in pursuit of another woman (Julia Roberts). Clive Owen stars Roberts’ partner who is also betrayed by the affair and seeks out Alice as a way of getting his payback.

Natalie Portman earned an Oscar nomination for her turn.

The impressive Natalie Portman earned an Oscar nomination for her turn in the film, and the story cleverly uses Alice’s stage performances as a symbol of her honesty. Though somewhat muddled,

Closer utilized the art of stripping as a way to explore the inner workings of the human mind. Alice is a complex character and her profession is just one aspect of her story but it comes to say a lot about her and how people view her. Based on the play of the same name, Closer is an intimate look at relationships anchored by four towering performances.

6 The Wrestler (2008)

Starring Marisa Tomei

The Wrestler Where to Watch

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Director Darren Aronofsky Release Date December 17, 2008 Studio(s) Searchlight Pictures Distributor(s) Searchlight Pictures Writers Robert Siegel Cast Evan Rachel Wood , Mark Margolis , Marisa Tomei , Todd Barry , Mickey Rourke Expand

In The Wrestler, Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) is an aging wrestler who can’t leave his lifestyle behind and tries to get his life back together with the help of a stripper named Cassidy (Marisa Tomei). Director Darren Aronofsky juxtaposed the life of the wrestler with that of a stripper, also aging and struggling to keep up with the younger stars coming in. The two form a bond and see a kinship in each other, but Rourke’s protagonist is ultimately too broken to find happiness.

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Ranked highly among Darren Aronofsky’s films, The Wrestler scored a slew of Oscar nominations, including for Rourke and Tomei, and the film had a lot to say about the nature of work, with pro wrestling and stripping as a symbol for labor in general. In the same way the movie depicts the wrestling profession in a grounded and authentic way, Aronofsky shows the world of strippers to be complex and devastating at times.

Marisa Tomei was nominated for an Oscar for
The Wrestler.

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5 Magic Mike (2012)

Starring Channing Tatum

Magic Mike Where to Watch

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Director Steven Soderbergh Release Date June 29, 2012 Studio(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Writers Reid Carolin Cast Channing Tatum , Alex Pettyfer , Cody Horn , Olivia Munn , Matt Bomer , Joe Manganiello , Matthew McConaughey Expand

Stripper movies were somewhat old-hat by the time Magic Mike hit theaters, and it reinvigorated the genre by featuring male strippers at the heart of the story, which hadn’t really been done much in the mainstream.

Mike (Channing Tatum) works as a stripper at night to make money but finds his newfound relationship threatened by the stigma of his chosen profession. What appeared on the surface to be an excuse to show Channing with his shirt off ended up being a compelling story of friendship and acceptance. This is due to director Steven Soderbergh’s keen cinematic vision.

While Magic Mike still had loads of exotic dancing, it also had a lot of legitimate love for the professionals in the industry. The movie packs in a lot of laughs, but it is a more serious story than the premise might suggest. It shows the destructive nature of Mike when he gets caught up in a lifestyle that is basically one endless party and how his view of that world can change when he finds romance.

4 Showgirls (1995)

Starring Elizabeth Berkley

Showgirls NC-17

Director Paul Verhoeven Release Date September 22, 1995 Cast Elizabeth Berkley , Kyle MacLachlan , Gina Gershon , Glenn Plummer , Robert Davi , Alan Rachins , Gina Ravera Runtime 131 Minutes

Director Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls is a notorious piece of ’90s pop culture but grew to become a true cult classic upon modern reevaluation. Nomi (Elizabeth Berkley) moves to Las Vegas with the dream of becoming a showgirl and stops at nothing to achieve her goal. Showgirls earned a lot of publicity for its overt sexuality and its strict NC-17 rating which made it a hard sell for many theaters.

Many missed Verhoeven’s subtle social satire disguised as erotic thriller melodrama

It received universally negative reviews and many missed Verhoeven’s subtle social satire disguised as erotic thriller melodrama. As with many of Verhoeven’s movies, audiences thought they were laughing at the earnestness of the film when that was likely the point all along.

Despite being a punchline when it was first released, Showgirls became a cult classic on home video, and it has taken a sainted place among stripper movies. Similar to Rocky Horror Picture Show, it has become an event of audience participation, giving the movie a new life.

Showgirls
remains something of a pop culture mainstay, often getting referenced on the Emmy-winning
Rupaul’s Drag Race.

3 Magic Mike XXL (2015)

Starring Channing Tatum

Magic Mike XXL Where to Watch

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Director Gregory Jacobs Release Date July 1, 2015 Studio(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Writers Reid Carolin , Channing Tatum Cast Jada Pinkett Smith , Donald Glover , Joe Manganiello , Amber Heard , Elizabeth Banks , Matt Bomer , Channing Tatum , Gabriel Iglesias , Kevin Nash Expand

A sequel to 2012’s Magic Mike was inevitable because of its tremendous success, and Magic Mike XXL lived up to its name. Mike (Channing Tatum) plans to leave the stripping business, but not before one more big blowout. XXL expanded the cast and added even more scintillating exotic dancing, but it also left plenty of room for the heart, which made the first film so enjoyable.

Camaraderie is the theme that pervades the film, and Magic Mike XXL further chipped away at the stigma surrounding stripping. Unlike many of the other movies of this subgenre, Magic Mike XXL is a celebration of the talents of these dancers that goes beyond simply tantalizing spectators.

The movie examines the genuine joy and positive effect Mike and his friends can have on the people they dance for. The film embraces the fun of this world more so than the grittier original or the romantic third installment, making it the most popular entry in the franchise.

2 The Full Monty (1997)

Starring Robert Carlyle

The Full Monty (1997) R

Director Peter Cattaneo Release Date August 13, 1997 Cast Robert Carlyle , Tom Wilkinson , Mark Addy Runtime 91 Minutes

Long before Magic Mike made male stripping a piece of cinematic history, The Full Monty tackled similar themes in a much more down-to-earth way. A group of unemployed factory workers in England decide to stage a strip show to raise money. Dealing with the way the community views their efforts as well as their own self-confidence issues, these men find they have a lot to overcome and a lot to prove when taking the stage.

The Full Monty
‘s aspiring strip heroes are a gaggle of regular Joes.

Instead of Hollywood sex symbols, The Full Monty‘s aspiring strip heroes are a gaggle of regular Joes which helps make the story not only humorous but relatable as well. Touching on issues like body image and depression among men, The Full Monty has taken its place among other classic British comedy movies and even scored a handful of Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. It went on the become a huge box office success, earning over $250 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), and received a sequel series in 2023.

1 Hustlers (2019)

Starring Jennifer Lopez

Hustlers Where to Watch

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Director Lorene Scafaria Release Date September 13, 2019 Writers Lorene Scafaria Cast Keke Palmer , Mercedes Ruehl , Jovanni Ortiz , Constance Wu , Madeline Brewer , Paul A Nielsen , Julia Stiles , Lizzo , Steven Boyer , Frank Whaley , usher , Max Minghella , Jennifer Lopez , Cardi B , Brandon Keener , Lili Reinhart , Trace Lysette , Jon Glaser , Mette Towley , Stormi Maya Expand

After decades of stripper movies chipped away at the stigma of the profession, Hustlers arrived to take the subgenre in a new direction entirely. Destiny (Constance Wu) strips to make ends meet, and befriends veteran Ramona (Jennifer Lopez), who has devised a plan to fleece their wealthiest clients. Empowering, playful, and gloriously over-the-top, Hustlers‘ inclusive approach to stripping was matched by its clever heist plot and brilliant script.

Stripping is the backdrop for the characters to assert and express themselves, and Hustlers makes commentary about gender and class as the entire film is set against the financial crisis of 2008. Based on a true story, it is a riveting crime drama, but it is also a funny madcap ride and a surprisingly touching story of female friendship.

The movie earned strong reviews, including Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for Lopez. Many even called for Lopez to get her first Oscar nomination, though that didn’t happen. Hustlers also managed to become a surprise box office hit with a $157 worldwide gross (via Box Office Mojo).

Source: https://www.ngoaingubigben.edu.vn
Category: Entertainment