Married couple goes to great lengths to amass quick money to pay their bills & live their dreams...but their new lifestyle slowly spins out of control to become a nightmare! Reminds me of a movie I would've picked up on a Tuesday night from a Blockbuster in the early 90s but Carmen Electra looked way younger and the plot was a little more fresh. Lap dances typically tend to be over rated but four stars seems appropriate for this...
18 Reviews
We broke a lot of rules tonight
nogodnomasters15 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Based on a true story, Kevin (Robert Hoffman) and his new fiancée Monica (Ali Cobrin) are on their way out to Hollywood to make their fortune, him as a screen writer and her as an actress. They detour to visit her dad (James Remar) who is dying from cancer, doesn't have enough insurance, and is facing a foreclosure etc. Monica wants to care for daddy, can't make enough money and opts to be a stripper. This causes problems in their relationship, surprise surprise, and we end up with a trite script that could be a Lifetime style film.
The film has only a small amount of stripper nudity and even less lap dancing. It is not an erotic film, but uses the erotic nature of the business for a background. It seems to have supplied us with the worse of both worlds. If you are looking for something sexy, keep looking. If you like a "B" Lifetime film with a sexy background, this is it.
The film has only a small amount of stripper nudity and even less lap dancing. It is not an erotic film, but uses the erotic nature of the business for a background. It seems to have supplied us with the worse of both worlds. If you are looking for something sexy, keep looking. If you like a "B" Lifetime film with a sexy background, this is it.
What happens when you can't find anything else on Netflix...
cmccabe4311 June 2017
OK, it wasn't that bad - I did feel some level of caring for the characters, especially the main two. From what I know of strip clubs and the girls who work in them, the potential "pitfalls" as presented in this film are but a tiny sugar coated fraction of the real perils, which another reviewer here tells accurately. Anyway, maybe keeping it light is a refreshing change, so much in the real world is so dark anyway. I give it a 5.
Won't please any audience...
natashabowiepinky11 December 2014
If you're going to make a movie about Lap Dancing, AT LEAST have the common courtesy to hire an actress who seems willing to take her kit off and can, ya know, 'dance'. The female lead here seems to want to maintain her 'purity' when it comes to shedding her togs... Which is great. More power to her. The problem is, in a film about topless ladies writhing around on sweaty men with seductive music playing in the background, it stands out a mile when the main star a) Keeps her lingerie on at all times and b) can't move sexy to save her life. Let's face it... With that front cover, and that title, you expect there to be more flesh on display than the pitiful amount here.
No, the director seems to think we'd be more interested in soapy histrionics, so there are sub plots about our budding exhibitionist's love life going down the crapper due to her new career, and her dad stuck in a hospital bed dying of terminal cancer. Boring, boring, boring. Words cannot express how bland and clichéd this stale material is... Yet the way the director dives into it, you'd think it was Oscar calibre stuff. Talk about deluded. If you're looking for I'll-just put-my-hand-in-my-pocket-for-a-couple-of-hours kind of flick, try your local specialist shop... Or just search online...
If you're after something that deftly combines the heartbreak of a failing relationship, and the loss of a parent into a wonderful tapestry of human emotion for the ages... Man, did you take a wrong turning!! 3/10
No, the director seems to think we'd be more interested in soapy histrionics, so there are sub plots about our budding exhibitionist's love life going down the crapper due to her new career, and her dad stuck in a hospital bed dying of terminal cancer. Boring, boring, boring. Words cannot express how bland and clichéd this stale material is... Yet the way the director dives into it, you'd think it was Oscar calibre stuff. Talk about deluded. If you're looking for I'll-just put-my-hand-in-my-pocket-for-a-couple-of-hours kind of flick, try your local specialist shop... Or just search online...
If you're after something that deftly combines the heartbreak of a failing relationship, and the loss of a parent into a wonderful tapestry of human emotion for the ages... Man, did you take a wrong turning!! 3/10
Just not good enough
margareth300014 December 2014
Considering the title and the fact it stars Carmen Electra made me think this movie would be a lot more entertaining.
I was hoping for something like Burlesque and after watching the first 20 minutes maybe something as Showgirls... After all it felt like the kind of movie made for TV: just a story in a life of a couple that almost drifts them apart.
Not intriguing, not surprising, not entertaining.
I believe the director put as many stripper/lap dance scenes as he could to compensate for the lack of story. I think all these horrible POV angles with very questioning lightning didn't help the movie either.
Not worth watching.
I was hoping for something like Burlesque and after watching the first 20 minutes maybe something as Showgirls... After all it felt like the kind of movie made for TV: just a story in a life of a couple that almost drifts them apart.
Not intriguing, not surprising, not entertaining.
I believe the director put as many stripper/lap dance scenes as he could to compensate for the lack of story. I think all these horrible POV angles with very questioning lightning didn't help the movie either.
Not worth watching.
Worlds worst girlfriend
parkertignor28 June 2017
The plot is utter crap.
Girl puts boyfriend and her in debt and convinces her boyfriend the only way out is her giving lap dances ummmmmm yay..... :( He should kick her to the curb like you should kick this movie to the curb.
There are so many other ways to empower women but stripping..... really?
I'm going to go rub sand in my eyes now.
Girl puts boyfriend and her in debt and convinces her boyfriend the only way out is her giving lap dances ummmmmm yay..... :( He should kick her to the curb like you should kick this movie to the curb.
There are so many other ways to empower women but stripping..... really?
I'm going to go rub sand in my eyes now.
Don't Bother
jonesie1234514 June 2015
This film is supposedly based on the true story of screenwriter/director Greg Carter and his girlfriend Junie Hoang as they struggled to earn money while trying to make their way to California to further their careers. Carter is Black and Hoang is Asian, yet Carter chose two Caucasian actors for the leads. Why? Did he think it would make the film more marketable? More palatable to White audiences? If so, he greatly miscalculated because the film tanked at the box office.
If Carter incorrectly portrays something as basic as the ethnicities of the protagonists, then the other events in this movie are probably fabricated as well. For example, he expects us to believe that his girlfriend worked as a stripper, hung out with rappers and drug dealers, was paid thousands of dollars for "companionship," yet remained completely faithful to him throughout most of her ordeal. I don't buy it.
There are several respectable actors in the movie, but they are all past their prime, and Carter doesn't use them to full advantage. Stacey Dash is only on screen for about 45 seconds, just a cameo role. Emmy Award-winning actress Lynn Whitfield appears sporadically, as does Academy Award nominee Mariel Hemingway. Blink and you'll miss porn star Ron Jeremy. Veteran character actor James Remar pretty much just lies in bed moaning and coughing.
Carmen Electra is 17 years older than the main character, too old to be cast as her rival and contemporary. Electra is also featured on the movie poster for this film, even though her role is a relatively minor one. Perhaps Carter thought that putting her on the poster instead of the unknown Ali Cobrin would make the film a bigger box office draw. Didn't work, and it's dishonest advertising.
Overall, this is a disappointing, lame, tepid movie. I suggest you skip it.
If Carter incorrectly portrays something as basic as the ethnicities of the protagonists, then the other events in this movie are probably fabricated as well. For example, he expects us to believe that his girlfriend worked as a stripper, hung out with rappers and drug dealers, was paid thousands of dollars for "companionship," yet remained completely faithful to him throughout most of her ordeal. I don't buy it.
There are several respectable actors in the movie, but they are all past their prime, and Carter doesn't use them to full advantage. Stacey Dash is only on screen for about 45 seconds, just a cameo role. Emmy Award-winning actress Lynn Whitfield appears sporadically, as does Academy Award nominee Mariel Hemingway. Blink and you'll miss porn star Ron Jeremy. Veteran character actor James Remar pretty much just lies in bed moaning and coughing.
Carmen Electra is 17 years older than the main character, too old to be cast as her rival and contemporary. Electra is also featured on the movie poster for this film, even though her role is a relatively minor one. Perhaps Carter thought that putting her on the poster instead of the unknown Ali Cobrin would make the film a bigger box office draw. Didn't work, and it's dishonest advertising.
Overall, this is a disappointing, lame, tepid movie. I suggest you skip it.
A heap of schlock
sabineholthaus2 August 2021
A mostly realistic take on strippers and the pitfalls of the profession
chrismackey197210 December 2014
First of all, why the heck is IMDb giving Briana Evigan, Carmen Electra and Stacey Dash billing over Ali Cobrin? Ali is the star of this movie, followed by Robert Hoffman. Dash is virtually not in it. Maybe she appeared in such a tiny role as a favor to a friend. Evigan and Electra are in it a tad bit more, but not a whole lot.
Anyway, after getting the billing problem out of the way, I'd have to say many parts of this movie are very realistic, such as why Monica decides to take up dancing. I've talked to quite a few dancers some years ago when I was writing a book, and one of my characters was sort of like them. The girls I talked to told me how they started dancing for the most noble of reasons; helping family members with hospital bills, keeping their kids fed and off the streets, etc. "I'll dance for a month until the bills are paid." That month tends to become two and then a year. Many of those girls finally decide to start "tricking" and they get into drugs, and their lives spiral out of control. The movie was also realistic about the deep pitfalls many of those girls go through in their relationships with husbands/boyfriends as their insistence on making more and more money becomes the main priority for them. Without giving away spoilers, I'll say that the ending was not as realistic as the rest of the movie.
The acting was good. Ali Cobrin did a great job in her role. Robert Hoffman was good as her husband, as were the supporting players. The storyline - except for the ending - was believable. I began watching this movie expecting to hate it. I thought it was going to basically be a skin flick with no story. It wasn't, not at all. There is some nudity in it, but not much. Ali Cobrin is completely naked on the bed with a guy, but they go to great lengths not to show anything besides her naked profile and back (no butt in that scene). In another scene, she gets out of bed and walks to the bathroom completely naked showing her butt. In the strip club, some other girls show their breasts. If you're looking for nudity like in Showgirls, forget it.
I gave this a 7-star rating, because - as I said earlier - it's a mostly realistic take on strippers and the pitfalls of that profession. I thought they should have put a bit more grittiness into the film, and the ending could've been done better, but no film's perfect. This was not a film I wanted to see, but it surprised me.
Anyway, after getting the billing problem out of the way, I'd have to say many parts of this movie are very realistic, such as why Monica decides to take up dancing. I've talked to quite a few dancers some years ago when I was writing a book, and one of my characters was sort of like them. The girls I talked to told me how they started dancing for the most noble of reasons; helping family members with hospital bills, keeping their kids fed and off the streets, etc. "I'll dance for a month until the bills are paid." That month tends to become two and then a year. Many of those girls finally decide to start "tricking" and they get into drugs, and their lives spiral out of control. The movie was also realistic about the deep pitfalls many of those girls go through in their relationships with husbands/boyfriends as their insistence on making more and more money becomes the main priority for them. Without giving away spoilers, I'll say that the ending was not as realistic as the rest of the movie.
The acting was good. Ali Cobrin did a great job in her role. Robert Hoffman was good as her husband, as were the supporting players. The storyline - except for the ending - was believable. I began watching this movie expecting to hate it. I thought it was going to basically be a skin flick with no story. It wasn't, not at all. There is some nudity in it, but not much. Ali Cobrin is completely naked on the bed with a guy, but they go to great lengths not to show anything besides her naked profile and back (no butt in that scene). In another scene, she gets out of bed and walks to the bathroom completely naked showing her butt. In the strip club, some other girls show their breasts. If you're looking for nudity like in Showgirls, forget it.
I gave this a 7-star rating, because - as I said earlier - it's a mostly realistic take on strippers and the pitfalls of that profession. I thought they should have put a bit more grittiness into the film, and the ending could've been done better, but no film's perfect. This was not a film I wanted to see, but it surprised me.
Don't Pay For This. You Can See More Breasts At A Public Pool, With Better Acting.
Real_Review12 May 2019
The writer/director didn't seem to understand stripper culture, so the movie is inauthentic. The lead actress is TERRIBLE. She seems to have studied strippers to get an 'affect', not realizing that the affect she is trying to emulate is actually the influence of opiates and alcohol. So, about halfway through the movie, she begins acting like she's in a daze and slowing her speech - nothing like a bad actress, being slow about it.
Much like 'How To Plan An Orgy In A Small Town' (2015, also a terrible movie), if you imply sexuality in a title, you have to deliver. This movie doesn't have enough sex and it doesn't have enough nudity - which should have been the whole point of watching.
RealReview Posting Scoring Criteria: Acting - 0.5/1 Casting - 0.5/1 Directing - 1/1 Story - 0.5/1 Writing/Screenplay - 0.5/1
Total Base Score = 3
Modifiers (+ or -) Cinematography: 0.5 (There were a couple lap dances in 'Lap Dance') Believability/Consistency: -0.5
Total RealReview Rating: 3
Much like 'How To Plan An Orgy In A Small Town' (2015, also a terrible movie), if you imply sexuality in a title, you have to deliver. This movie doesn't have enough sex and it doesn't have enough nudity - which should have been the whole point of watching.
RealReview Posting Scoring Criteria: Acting - 0.5/1 Casting - 0.5/1 Directing - 1/1 Story - 0.5/1 Writing/Screenplay - 0.5/1
Total Base Score = 3
Modifiers (+ or -) Cinematography: 0.5 (There were a couple lap dances in 'Lap Dance') Believability/Consistency: -0.5
Total RealReview Rating: 3
Highlights why stripping is not a good or positive lifestyle in any way shape or form
lovettstough26 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
From a man point of view to look at naked girls just to look is natural & I've been to many strip clubs & I'm sure some of the girls start off innocent like monica did in this one but 99.9 percent of them are seduced & get addicted to drugs whether it be weed or something like that or strong heavy drugs. The guy Chicago if he knows she has a fiance is wrong & a bad person as well for pushing her to cross that line & boundary. People like that are just evil. The strippers who start out innocent & stay innocent are extremely few & far between. When I went to strip clubs yes the attention was nice but I would never sleep with one & or never even attempt a relationship with one. I was going to start this review by saying it highlights the good & the bad of stripping/strip clubs but there is no good. From the little part I just seen where the evil Chicago said Kevin is a little boy & he is a man well in fact Kevin is the man & Chicago is the little evil boy.
The struggle of a woman
Gordon-1126 August 2015
This film tells the story of a young woman who enters the world of exotic dancing in order to pay for her father's mounting medical bills. Despite initial agreements with her fiancé, her relationship with her fiancé is severely compromised.
"Lap Dance" is a story of Monica's struggle to make money, but she still gets sucked into the glittery world of hedonism. I find it really strange that the fiancé actually stays in the club often. Isn't it so weird to watch your fiancée strutt it off in a club? Anyway, a lot of thing happen in the story, including fights with other women, jealousy, poor health and relationship problems. It is quite a struggle to keep herself at a distance from the money and attention, and this struggle is portrayed wel. It is interesting film to watch.
"Lap Dance" is a story of Monica's struggle to make money, but she still gets sucked into the glittery world of hedonism. I find it really strange that the fiancé actually stays in the club often. Isn't it so weird to watch your fiancée strutt it off in a club? Anyway, a lot of thing happen in the story, including fights with other women, jealousy, poor health and relationship problems. It is quite a struggle to keep herself at a distance from the money and attention, and this struggle is portrayed wel. It is interesting film to watch.
realistic enough, my real rating 5.5
webwizardbe4 February 2018
The reason why the protagonist gets into the sex industry is real enough. And for this I draw from own experience (but you won't get that story), many ambitious young artists earn on the side in the adult business hoping to be able the pay for their breakthrough (auditions, promotion, getting by).
I just don't believe the "out", this kind of movie always has an "in and an out". Her father is immediately introduced, and going along the movie you will know what I mean.
I enjoyed the movie, the drama never goes too deep and I could relate to these people. Now, my view may be distorted; as a young aspiring artist I've spent my time in the world of adult parties. And yet after 23 years I'm still married.
For those who just wanna see dancing girls and tits, you won't have to wait long and you gonna get some. But the reasons are artistic and make the movie more believable. This movie is good enough to watch 1 time.
For those who just wanna see dancing girls and tits, you won't have to wait long and you gonna get some. But the reasons are artistic and make the movie more believable. This movie is good enough to watch 1 time.
It's too bad this wasn't executed better because this could have been pretty good
kevin_robbins13 March 2022
Lap Dance (2014) is a movie I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows a recently engaged couple who suffer unfortunate circumstances when the bride to be's dad gets cancer. They have to use all their savings on his treatment and become desperate for money. A friend of the bride to be recommends she strips to pay the bills. The couple is hesitant but when desperation calls the wife agrees to do the deed but not to change in the process. Once she gets in the lifestyle she quickly discovers it will chance her and her fiancé both...
This movie is directed by Greg Carter (Lucky Girl) and stars James Remar (The Warriors), Omari Hardwick (Power), Stacey Dash (Clueless), Carmen Electra (Scary Movie), Mariel Hemingway (Superman IV), Briana Evigan (Sorority Row), LisaRaye McCoy (The Players Club) and Lynn Whitfield (Eve's Bayou).
This film had so much potential with a realistic storyline and a worthwhile cast. Unfortunately the execution was mediocre primarily because the husband and wife are miscast but everyone around them is really good. Somehow the director put all his good cast members as supporting characters. The dialogue between the couple feels unnatural even though the circumstances feel real. I will say the strippers are well selected and the storyline unfolds well and the conclusion fit the plot perfectly.
Overall it's too bad this wasn't executed better because this could have been pretty good. I would score this a 3/10 and recommend skipping it.
This movie is directed by Greg Carter (Lucky Girl) and stars James Remar (The Warriors), Omari Hardwick (Power), Stacey Dash (Clueless), Carmen Electra (Scary Movie), Mariel Hemingway (Superman IV), Briana Evigan (Sorority Row), LisaRaye McCoy (The Players Club) and Lynn Whitfield (Eve's Bayou).
This film had so much potential with a realistic storyline and a worthwhile cast. Unfortunately the execution was mediocre primarily because the husband and wife are miscast but everyone around them is really good. Somehow the director put all his good cast members as supporting characters. The dialogue between the couple feels unnatural even though the circumstances feel real. I will say the strippers are well selected and the storyline unfolds well and the conclusion fit the plot perfectly.
Overall it's too bad this wasn't executed better because this could have been pretty good. I would score this a 3/10 and recommend skipping it.
Rules Broken were standard club rules
jockdoc-0743711 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
In researching this true story of black screen writer Carter and Asian GF Junie Hoang. I agreed with reviews that the original story was better. Both Carter and Hoang stripped. Carter just couldn't stand her dancing. Then she got involved with a rich white customer. Lap Dance was a different story. D. Turner the producer gave himself a major part as essentially a black alpha male playboy but probably a drug dealer with friends (black) in the entertainment business. Money and running elbows with these artists helps seduce Monica a gullible white chick who tells herself she's in control but slowly gets closer to what she hopes will be a sugar daddy with film industry connects. But she finds out almost too late he's is just a hustler. Turner has more screen time than the fiancée. Lots of time for Turners friends. In a interview he stated he called all his friends to be in the movie. Even a surreal party Monica privately goes to against her rules and with her bad friend Tasha get excited over a song about Monica. Problems real strippers have was many. Monica used her own name, Chicago got her private number, she answered his calls more than she did her fiancée. Worst part was too much screen time to other actresses. The main subject was rushed through. Not enough dialogue and not much justification for Monica to test her fiancée badly except the worn out "sissy boi" white cuckold nonsense. Dad and aunt did great consider poor script. Monica did a few good scenes with great facial expressions. Real strippers use fake names, very private, don't mess with customers outside the club. Especially as escorts or girlfriends. Money is made by hustling in the club. Sell VIP rooms and lap dances. Not sitting around in a back seat. Never saw money negotiated. Monica paid herself for the party by taking cash out of Chicago's hand. She only got money to go to LA after she said no. Audience hated her hiding her indiscretions with Chicago. She was too easy. Money was just a excuse. Attention was okay if you like that kind of attention. Reality was the DJ, bartenders and waitresses make as much or more money. Fiancée paid his dues with time money and patience for Monica's dad. Monica seemed to forget her reason for stripping and shifted to being a sugar baby and Chicago helping with her acting despite he told her he wasn't in the industry. Maybe "jungle fever" was part of it like Kevin said. There was a foursome in real life. But it took a lot of screen time. Maybe the original story was too weak. But I think Turner just used Carter for his own ego.
Good for late night viewers
hedrash18 February 2020
A young actress with an ailing father caught in the web of stripping.
frftrentdent28 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Greg Carter's movie is a skillful interpretation of "Indecent Proposal"and 1934's "Of Human Bondage". He insightfully pulls together the subtle elements of those two films and the rising new star, Ali Cobrin,like Bette Davis, has the exceptional ability to convey thought and emotion without dialogue. Unfortunately, some continuity is lost in the editing. The sequencing of scenes showing the changes in Monica's and Lexus' attitudes could be clearer. Also, Kevin's need for truth about lap dancing should be before his VIP lap dance with Jade Lee in JadeLee and Lexus' apartment. Also there is a need for a scene with Kevin and Matt after Kevin's roaming scene in the club disrupts Monica's lap dance. For the most part, all of the actors do an admirable job and are believable. There are some diction difficulties and mumbling which is common in most of today's movies. In some places the background music confuses dialogue. Datari Turner's acting debut is perfect in his interpretation of Chicago's manipulative personality. The working title of Monica should be kept since the story is more intellectually subtle, deeper and emotional than a "skin flick" as the title misleadingly suggests. Such is marketing, the art of expedient exaggeration and misdirection!
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