Lap Dance Movie Review

Yeah, Yeah, I know what my readers are thinking, extricate your mind from the gutter, Lap Dance is not a porn film, in fact far from it. Ali Corbin plays Monica, her father is stricken with cancer and his hospital bill is with extended care is a super high 15,000 a month! Of course her salon job is not going to cut the expense, so she decides at the behest of a friend to be an exotic dancer to make extra money.

The film is based on the true story of director Greg Carter and his girlfriend prior to moving to LA. While the film is decently written, and potentially has some drama involved, sadly the acting left me a bit flat. The actors saunter through each scene, one never feels the importance or urgency of the matter at hand. The father is visited in the beginning in his hospital bed, and we just do not see enough interplay between Monica and Kevin, as they are too busy getting there jollies with other partners. The audience is never really shown much of the story.

Robert Hoffman plays Monica's husband Kevin. He does give Monica his blessing to dance in the beginning, but eventually he begins to become a bit suspicious. One thing leads to another, and the husband and wife relationship degrades to infidelity.

The film is not sexy enough to be an erotic thriller, nor is it dramatic enough to be a true drama. Lap Dance falls into the meandering yarn of the issues of women in the exotic dancing profession. People slam Showgirls, but there is more than talking in strip clubs, there is fighting, arguing, slutty women with major issues, Lap Dance, was just to timid and tame for such a lurid subject. 

Watch for cameos from Stacy Dash, Carmen Electra, and Nia Peoples. Yeah it is a sexy film, but definitely not Showgirls type over the top crazyness sex. Lap Dance is not gritty like the Australian film"X" Where the two young prostitutes travel down the dark end of the street. The three add a bit of life, to try to spice things up, but their extended cameo roles ultimately are just window dressing for the main plot film.

Perhaps Lap Dance would have been a better BET or Lifetime Original Movie. Whoa I know, what about the sexy parts. Well take out the nudity and you have a tight 85 minute film, perhaps add some additional dialogue and deeper background characters. 

Overall, I wanted to like the film, unfortunately Lap Dance is a mildly tepid drama with a relatively small amount of overtly sexy scenes. I rate Lap Dance a 5 out of 10, perhaps a rent only.

Amazon has the film for a very reasonable price @