Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
Bounced from her job, Erin Grant needs money if she's to have any chance of winning back custody of her child. But, eventually, she must confront the naked truth: to take on the system, she'll have to take it all off. Erin strips to conquer, but she faces unintended circumstances when a hound dog of a Congressman zeroes in on her and sharpens the shady tools at his fingertips, including blackmail and murder.
Striptease is a notorious mid-90s misfire that squanders a potentially sharp political satire premise. The plot is muddled, oscillating awkwardly between serious custody drama and campy comedy without committing to either. Demi Moore's performance is wooden despite her reported $12.5 million salary, and the supporting cast (including Burt Reynolds as the sleazy congressman) chews scenery inconsistently. Cinematography is competent but unremarkable, standard glossy Hollywood work of the era. The film earns modest novelty points for its satirical premise targeting congressional corruption and the absurdist Florida setting that Carl Hiaasen's source novel mined well — even if the execution fails to deliver on that distinctiveness. The ending is unsatisfying, wrapping up its tangled threads with little dramatic payoff.