Dancing at the Blue Iguana

If Michael Radford thought that setting the story in an attractive strip bar environment and hiring a few well-known beautiful actresses would be enough to ensure the success of the film, he was mistaken. The film may not come across as cheaply exploitative as Showgirls, which at least offers some eroticism, whereas Dancing at the Blue Iguana mainly offers boredom. There are actually two levels of deceit going on here. Firstly, the film's "packaging" creates the impression of an erotically stimulating spectacle. The girls do try to twist around the pole and expose themselves as their profession demands, but the erotic atmosphere in the film is about as exciting as in a dentist's waiting room. Secondly, and far more fundamentally, the film deceives the audience when it pretends to be a subtle psychological drama. It lacks greater convincingness in portraying the characters and the environment, and above all, a dramatic storyline. It has been a long time since I have felt such a feeble sense of connection with the fate of a film's characters. In reality, the director presents kitsch to the audience when he attempts to evoke sympathy for the fate of the girls with their unfulfilled dreams. Everyone - even the outwardly rough hooker Jennifer Tilly - is actually very good at heart under her cynical exterior, they help each other, comfort each other, and the biggest drama is when they argue about a chair after returning from the "stage"... The bar owner occasionally barks at his little sheep about punctuality, but he doesn't mean it because he understands the girls, he parties with them and maybe brings a gift for the birthday girl... He probably doesn't enjoy it much either and would rather run an art cinema... Overall impression: 35%. (13/07/2006)