"Naked City" (2003) TV series

User Rating:

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Director:

Kristiene Clarke

Release Date:

29 November 2003 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

In the UK, Birmingham (and the Midlands in general) has carved out a niche for itself as the lap dancing capital of England...

Cast

P.J. Ellis

...

Narrator

Runtime:

UK:25 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Comes with local interest, some good perspective and only slightly titillating

In the UK, Birmingham (and the Midlands in general) has carved out a niche for itself as the lap dancing capital of England. This series looks at different aspects of the trade with interviews with the girls, the bosses and the punters themselves.

I won't try to defend this series as it is obvious that it was designed to be a way of get T&A onto the tv schedule. As such it succeeds, using the `behind the scenes' look at lap-dancing clubs as the reason. However, unlike some documentary style programmes and films into the sex industry, this one actually manages to be interesting and slightly informative while dealing with the subject in a fair and even handed way. There is of course plenty of chance to see semi-naked women dancing round poles for the camera and, if this is all you're watching for then why not just go to a club? Trust me, it's much better than just watching telly (although maybe not something you want to make a hobby of!). If you're only after a bit of `relief' then this series won't help you - happily that's not what it's all about.

What the series does surprisingly well is look at the job overall. I'll admit to being jealous of women who get to do the job and earn so much money for just dancing for people they don't care about - I wish I could have done it as a student but, as a man, cleaning and bar tending were my options! The girls talk openingly, most of the time they are just talking but this relaxed approach means they are open - nothing really shocking comes out but some of it is enlightening and quite interesting.

The series also lets you see a lot of the background to the clubs and it is interesting to see some of the people involved and the jobs they do. The House Mums are pretty cool; many of them have never danced but just look after the girls. Some the managers are good guys but I think they mostly have egos on them with being around naked girls all the time! The girls are mixed, some love the work, others do it to get the cash. What was most interesting was seeing them in `real life'; many of them are not very pretty but have nice figures and know how to shake @ss! It takes the mystery out of the whole thing and they also show up how dippy some of them can be! Mostly though, they are nice girls who struggle with what they look like and if they are fat or not!

So, while there is an element of the film that seeks to provide titillation, it does manage to be interesting and informative and be better than I expected to be. As a documentary about lap dancing, it is average - with just enough information (and nudity) to hold the interest, but it should be interesting to anyone who (like I do) lives in Birmingham or anyone who has visited one of the many clubs in the city.