Photos
Storyline
Did you know
- ConnectionsFeatured in SexTV: The Crippendales/Julie Atlas Muz/Feet, Fantasy, Focus (2007)
Featured review
Guardian Review
Last night's TV Far from being a tacky freak show, Channel 4's tale of disabled male strippers was a charm
Sam Wollaston The Guardian, Wednesday March 28, 2007
There's a lot of freak-show telly around at the moment. You know - 48 Stone Baby, The Boy With a Tumour Instead of a Head, all those programmes. But here are a couple that are a bit different.
The Crippendales (Channel 4) is a beautiful film about Britain's first troupe of disabled male strippers. Yep, that's what they call themselves; if you don't like it, tough. The leader is Lee, a proud, handsome man, who was paralysed from the waist down after a motorbike crash. John, a soldier, was hit by a car bomb in Northern Ireland, has a crumbling spine and is in constant pain. Andy has hyperekplexia, a rare neurological condition. James is blind ("Blind man's buff," quips Lee). They're going to get their kit off, all of it, in front of a room full of boozy hen-nighters in Brighton.
There was Asif, too, but he pulled out, as he couldn't square stripping with his faith (Islam). He was fine going down to his pants, but not the full monty. This is all or nothing. Well, nothing or nothing, I suppose.
We see the auditions, in the pub. And their training sessions, in the park. There's pain - from John's back. Then Andy has a fall and has to pull out at the 11th hour. They're down to three, and the apprehension grows as the time approaches. "The nerves grow, the cock shrinks, and that's not what a stripper needs," one of them says.
But they're great, of course, and the hen-nighters whoop and whistle as the kit comes off (the Crippendales start off dressed as gangsters, with sharp white suits and trilby hats). They seem to be a teeny bit nervous, but also pleased as anything, happy for once that people are watching them with something other than sympathy. Because there's nothing sympathetic about that whooping and whistling, it's pure animal.
Sam Wollaston The Guardian, Wednesday March 28, 2007
There's a lot of freak-show telly around at the moment. You know - 48 Stone Baby, The Boy With a Tumour Instead of a Head, all those programmes. But here are a couple that are a bit different.
The Crippendales (Channel 4) is a beautiful film about Britain's first troupe of disabled male strippers. Yep, that's what they call themselves; if you don't like it, tough. The leader is Lee, a proud, handsome man, who was paralysed from the waist down after a motorbike crash. John, a soldier, was hit by a car bomb in Northern Ireland, has a crumbling spine and is in constant pain. Andy has hyperekplexia, a rare neurological condition. James is blind ("Blind man's buff," quips Lee). They're going to get their kit off, all of it, in front of a room full of boozy hen-nighters in Brighton.
There was Asif, too, but he pulled out, as he couldn't square stripping with his faith (Islam). He was fine going down to his pants, but not the full monty. This is all or nothing. Well, nothing or nothing, I suppose.
We see the auditions, in the pub. And their training sessions, in the park. There's pain - from John's back. Then Andy has a fall and has to pull out at the 11th hour. They're down to three, and the apprehension grows as the time approaches. "The nerves grow, the cock shrinks, and that's not what a stripper needs," one of them says.
But they're great, of course, and the hen-nighters whoop and whistle as the kit comes off (the Crippendales start off dressed as gangsters, with sharp white suits and trilby hats). They seem to be a teeny bit nervous, but also pleased as anything, happy for once that people are watching them with something other than sympathy. Because there's nothing sympathetic about that whooping and whistling, it's pure animal.
helpful•30
- havanamarking
- Jul 9, 2008
Details
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content