Just Can't Get Enough Movie Review

I had no idea there was a big scandal behind the Chippendale's male revue... who knew the whole thing was born from murder, betrayal, and a poor understanding of estate law?

Such is Dave Payne's story in Just Can't Get Enough, a docudrama that looks like it was made for TV -- as long as you don't consider the near-constant nudity (male and female). Reminiscent of Boogie Nights, the film begins as the story of a do-gooder business student (Jonathan Aube) who wants to work at Chippendale's as a manager, but soon he's dancing on stage, losing his girlfriend, and basically watching his life go down the tubes. By the midpoint, the film has become Rated X, the tepid TV biopic about San Francisco strip club pioneers, the Mitchell brothers.

While a movie like this really lends itself to behind-the-scenes juiciness, the reality is that the onstage antics are far more compelling. I just never got interested in the story of Chippendale's management squabbling, even though it ended in bloodshed. Frankly, the fire code violations were more intriguing.

There's some good acting and decent direction here (Payne has mainly worked in direct-to-video stuff I've never heard of), but overall, the titillating backdrop of the story doesn't make up for its garden variety plot. I mean, it isn't Payne's fault that history didn't generate a more interesting tale... just think about all those sad, sad Amy Fisher movies.

Flexing as fast as they can.