After the success of last year’s “Anora”, I started thinking of other movies about strippers and strip clubs. Not movies about male strippers (like Magic Mike, The Full Monty or 2015’s Chocolate City). Not teen sex comedies like Porky’s. And not movies with a stripper character who never actually strips (Flashdance, Sin City, From Dusk Til Dawn etc etc.) If you know of others worth watching, please comment!
If you haven’t seen “Anora”, it’s about a New York stripper who marries a rich Russian guy, and his family is NOT happy about it. Lots of sex scenes and topless strippers. Club scenes were filmed at HQ KONY Gentleman’s Club. imdb.com
“Hustlers” (2019) was filmed at the Show Palace in Long Island, and it’s supposedly based on a true story about strippers getting revenge on their Wall Street customers Jennifer Lopez is in it, as well as Constance Wu, Keke Palmer and Cardi B. None of them get naked, but some of the minor characters do. imdb.com
“Lap Dance” (2014) is also supposed to be based on a true story. You might recognize Carmen Electra, Nia Peeples, and Stacey Dash. You will not see them nude. There are other movies with very similar titles (Lap Dancer, Lap Dancing, etc.) imdb.com
“Powder Blue” (2009) – Jessica Biel plays a stripper, and takes her top off. Patrick Swayze plays "Velvet Larry" (his last role before his death). Otherwise unremarkable as a movie. imdb.com
“Dancing At The Blue Iguana” (2000) has a decent amount of nudity. Daryl Hannah, Jennifer Tilly and Sandra Oh are among the strippers. Tilly does a topless pole dance. Some of it was filmed at the Valley Ball Cabaret in Van Nuys. imdb.com
“The Players Club” (1998) was written and directed by Ice Cube. Jamie Foxx, Berni Mac and a lot of other famous faces are in it. LisaRaye plays the main stripper character, and she does strip in this movie (as well as 2014’s “Lap Dance”, mentioned above). “The Players Club” is supposed to be set in Atlanta, but it was filmed in LA. imdb.com
“Live Nude Girls Unite” (1997) is a documentary about dancers trying to unionize at The Lusty Lady in SF. Not to be confused with the 2014 comedy “Live Nude Girls” (with Tera Patrick, Bree Olsen and Asa Akira). imdb.com
“Striptease” (1996) is one of the best known stripper movies, starring Demi Moore and her bolt-ons. Pandora Peaks plays one of the dancers. The "club" was built on a film set. imdb.com
“Showgirls” (1995) was a huge flop that nearly ended Elizabeth Berkley’s acting career (and the career of screenwriter Joe Eszterhas). It was rated NC-17 and has more nudity than most of the movies in this article. It has become one of those “so bad it’s good” movies that people enjoy watching for laughs. imdb.com
“Fear City” (1984) was filmed in NYC before Times Square became Disneyfied. It’s a serial killer movie with strippers played by Melanie Griffith and Rae Dawn Chong (both of whom have nude scenes). Melanie was in her mid-20’s and looking good. Tom Berenger and Billy Dee Williams are in it. The director (Abel Ferrera) started his career in hardcore porn, and “Fear City” was heavily edited to tone down the sex and violence. I wasn't able to find out whether any filming was done at specific clubs. Some of the interior scenes were shot on LA soundstages. There have been many slasher films with strippers since this one (All Strippers Must Die, Zombies Vs. Strippers, etc etc). imdb.com
Hmmm, I’ve got some streaming to do.