Dancing At The Blue Iguana

      Dancing at the Blue Iguana, a Michael Redford-directed film set in a lowly LA strip club, opened at last fall's Toronto fest and, with plans for a grand New York opening, star Daryl Hannah made a Letterman appearance promoting it. Surprise. The movie tumbled instantly to video, and now, several months later, it's hopping off the shelf at local video stores. I finally managed to rent a copy, and found it, alas, one crass, sudsy, pointless movie. As you might imagine, strippers have bummer lives. There's much pained soul-bearing, and chintzy over-acting, and perhaps even more-Hannah and Jennifer Tilly and Sandra Oh all do it - bearing of tits.

     Dancing at the Blue Iguana is fodder for video voyeurs, who might fast forward through the speechifying and get to the naked actresses sliding down poles. Others who desire an enticing drama about strippers should go directly to Atom Egoyan's Exotica.

GERALD PEARY
(Boston Phoenix, February, 2002)

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