Demi Moore takes on the stripper role in Striptease, a half-dramatic, half-comedic adventure. Expectations for this movie were low; Demi Moore playing a stripper, Burt Reynolds playing a crazy, perverted congressman, and not enough plot to fulfill the Showgirls script. Luckily, Striptease goes far beyond the expectations, but still falls short of being a truly memorable movie.

Here's a question: Why would a woman who used to work for the FBI start working at a strip club? Money? No. She wants her daughter, whom the judge has granted to her criminal husband for some insane reason. She knows the judge won't look highly on her newfound job, so why take it in the first place?

Anyway, putting that aside, Striptease moves along at a reasonable pace. A congressman, in a drunken rage, jumps up on stage during one of Moore's acts and seriously injures a man. A guy who was there got pictures of the congressman doing the dastardly deed but, later, is found dead. Murdered. The plot goes on from there, which was a lot grander than anything I imagined for a movie like this.

The best part about this movie was Ving Rhames. I love this guy. No matter what role he plays, he brings a tough good-guy look to his character. Furthermore, Burt Reynolds, almost unrecognizable, is completely crazy, and Robert Patrick is excellent as Moore's psychotic husband, who, by the end, has a golf club fastened to his arm (to help his broken arm heal). Armand Assante also has a role as the police officer who catches on to what's going on, but he comes in late and doesn't have that big of a part.

Some scenes were funny, others were serious, but throughout the film, I kept on wondering why this movie was made. It had no real substance, without any kind of direction and purpose. It wasn't a bad watch, but it wasn't a great watch either.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.