Joseph R. "Joe" Redner is the owner of the world-famous Mons Venus, a nude strip club in Tampa, Florida, and is known as the father of the lap dance. He has come a long way, from being a school dropout to becoming quite wealthy. His story is an inspiration.
Redner has been involved in legal disputes with the Tampa City Council, which has tried to place restrictions on the strip club industry for nearly thirty years. Mons Venus and Redner have filed suits that have reached the Supreme Court and have become case law in many court cases.
On March 6, 2007, Redner earned the number two spot in a six-person race for Tampa City Council, and faced the incumbent chairperson, Gwen Miller, in a runoff March 27, 2007. Joe Redner lost the election, but still achieved a respectable 44% of the vote.
These stories and more form the basis for Shelby McIntyre's documentary, "Strip Club King", where we learn what sets Redner apart from the crowd. For one thing, his club is not only successful, but operates in a unique manner: drug-free, prostitution-free and with a female manager.
This is also a story of American citizens' basic rights. Redner cites the Supreme Court in saying that nudity is First Amendment-protected speech. But the city didn't like that, and raided his establishment (at this point, The Night Gallery) within three weeks. Sometimes they would be raided a few times a night, with girls arrested earlier in the night back by the end. Soon he knew the vice squad faces.
The film has a good mix in of news footage with Redner interviews, and other new visuals, which balances the film nicely -- including a young Anderson Cooper and Jon Stewart. The film, through Redner, also makes an argument that the key factor in gender inequality is the amount of fundamentalists in a given area, not the existence of adult entertainment.
Everything about this film is done perfectly. I did not know who Redner was before watching it, I have little experience with strip clubs, but this film really presented everything I would want to know in a fun, educational and fairly non-sensationalist manner. The movie is not about nudity, and features fairly little considering the subject matter. If that's what you crave... there is a special feature with some dancing girls. But that was honestly the least interesting part.
Redner has been involved in legal disputes with the Tampa City Council, which has tried to place restrictions on the strip club industry for nearly thirty years. Mons Venus and Redner have filed suits that have reached the Supreme Court and have become case law in many court cases.
On March 6, 2007, Redner earned the number two spot in a six-person race for Tampa City Council, and faced the incumbent chairperson, Gwen Miller, in a runoff March 27, 2007. Joe Redner lost the election, but still achieved a respectable 44% of the vote.
These stories and more form the basis for Shelby McIntyre's documentary, "Strip Club King", where we learn what sets Redner apart from the crowd. For one thing, his club is not only successful, but operates in a unique manner: drug-free, prostitution-free and with a female manager.
This is also a story of American citizens' basic rights. Redner cites the Supreme Court in saying that nudity is First Amendment-protected speech. But the city didn't like that, and raided his establishment (at this point, The Night Gallery) within three weeks. Sometimes they would be raided a few times a night, with girls arrested earlier in the night back by the end. Soon he knew the vice squad faces.
The film has a good mix in of news footage with Redner interviews, and other new visuals, which balances the film nicely -- including a young Anderson Cooper and Jon Stewart. The film, through Redner, also makes an argument that the key factor in gender inequality is the amount of fundamentalists in a given area, not the existence of adult entertainment.
Everything about this film is done perfectly. I did not know who Redner was before watching it, I have little experience with strip clubs, but this film really presented everything I would want to know in a fun, educational and fairly non-sensationalist manner. The movie is not about nudity, and features fairly little considering the subject matter. If that's what you crave... there is a special feature with some dancing girls. But that was honestly the least interesting part.