For reasons that are completely self-evident, strippers are subjects for filmmakers. Naked bodies are inherently interesting, and if you add pulsing lights and songs like "Pony," you have a recipe for great cinema, or at least something people will pay twelve dollars to see. Strip clubs are also great settings for movie magic. The aura of seedy sadness surrounding desperate young men and women invites drama. Sex, drugs, and crime seem like natural companions for lap dances.
This environment has been used on screen in a variety of interesting ways. We have seen hopeful young strippers who get in over their heads. We have seen aging strippers holding on to the last glimmers of youthful beauty. We have seen calculating strippers convince gullible customers to do their bidding. Though there is a specific dramatic tone that exists in a strip club, films have used that dramatic potential in wildly different ways.
So as Magic Mike XXL takes over this holiday weekend one "Pony" ride at a time, let's look at The Best Strippers on Film.