Unlike ''Showgirls,'' the laughs here are intentional. Bergman has some fun tweaking the hypocrisies of literally oily politicians (the kinky congressman likes to smear his body in Vaseline) and his send-up of the strip scene is amiably addled. It's only as a broad, ramshackle comedy that ''Striptease'' makes any claim on our affections, and the gags fizzle as often as they fire. There's no mystery (we know who the bad guys are) and the damsel-in-distress angle generates zero tension. This may sound like a suspense movie, but it's not.

But the congressman has some bloodthirsty protectors who need to keep him in office and are not shy about bumping off anyone who gets in his way - including, if need be, Erin. Up for re-election, he's a prime target for blackmail. A drunken, sex-crazed congressman (Burt Reynolds) with a Christian-right constituency becomes obsessed with Erin's Eager Beaver artistry and is recognized in the club when he almost kills another patron who's pawing her. The perils of being a part-time sex goddess soon engulf Erin in some lethal political chicanery. As a bonus, the movie tosses in a topless home ''rehearsal'' scene, surely only to show us how diligent she is at her work. Erin, a former FBI clerk, is dancing to raise money for an expensive custody battle over her 7-year-old daughter (played by her real-life daughter Rumer Willis), now in the clutches of her worthless husband (Robert Patrick), a petty felon who steals wheelchairs from hospitals.

Playing Erin Grant, she generously shares her firm, gym-enhanced amplitudes on the stage of The Eager Beaver, a Ft. Whether any of these interested parties will emerge satisfied is another question.įleshwise, Demi delivers as promised. Some people will go because it's a comedy written and directed by Andrew Bergman, the guy who gave us the zany highs of ''The Freshman'' and ''Honeymoon in Vegas.'' Fans of Carl Hiaasen, the satirical mystery novelist, will be curious to see if Hollywood has managed to capture his barbed vision of sleazebucket Florida scoundrels. MOST PEOPLE WILL WANT TO check out Striptease to see Demi Moore take off her clothes.

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