Striptease (1996), starring Demi Moore and Burt Reynolds, became one of Hollywood’s most controversial releases of the 1990s. Moore reportedly earned $12.5 million for playing a single mother who becomes a stripper to finance her fight for custody of her daughter, making her the highest-paid actress in Hollywood at the time.
Director Andrew Bergman intended the film as a dark comedy based on Carl Hiaasen’s satirical novel, but its marketing confused audiences by presenting it as both a steamy thriller and a comedy. The original ending was also reshot after test audiences reacted negatively to a darker confrontation involving Reynolds’s character.
Hiaasen accepted the changes to his novel with characteristic humour, remarking, “This ain’t Tolstoy.” Meanwhile, Moore defended her role against criticism, arguing that the story was ultimately about a mother doing everything possible to provide for her child.
Despite its poor critical reception in the United States, the film performed better internationally, making its commercial story more complicated than its reputation might suggest.