Ever since he was 15, Jason “Merlin” Owen knew he wanted to be a professional magician one day. It’s a difficult career to sustain, but he believes that he’s good enough to be the best of the best. And as long as he has his best friend, Robin, as his assistant, he knows that he’ll be able to do it.
Well, time flies, and people move away. After high school, Robin left for some time to start a dance show for Black people—and she came back with a boyfriend on the very day that the now 24-year-old Merlin was going to confess his feelings for her. What’s worse, Robin’s boyfriend proposed to her, and she said yes!
So now Merlin’s in a corner, because he already told Robin that he had something really important to tell her. When she asks him what he wanted to say, Merlin spontaneously blurts out that he’s headed to Las Vegas for a magic gig.
Of course, that’s not true. But his mother, Verna, attempts to salvage his outburst by providing him a plane ticket (though truthfully, it’s more so she can get him out of the house so she can more easily fulfill her sexual appetites). She sets him up in a rundown motel operated by an old friend of hers—one that operates a once-thriving male strip club, the Cookie Cutter.
The place used to be the talk of the town back before its five-man act, the Chocolate Chips, went their separate ways after “Mr. Big” permanently injured his leg. So instead, Merlin’s up on stage, attempting to impress people with his failing magic show—one that fails so hard that it ends with his pants literally on fire. And when he pulls them down to escape the flames, they discover that he’s a suitable replacement for Mr. Big.
That’s if they can convince the rest of the act to come back to the stage.
Robin’s tempted to cheat on her fiancé, but doesn’t. More on that in Sexual Content.
One of the former strippers, a man named Amos “Slim Sexy” Fowler, became a pastor after leaving the business. There’s more on Amos’ sexualized spirituality below, too.
Amos is hired to pastor a wedding. When his wife takes a bite of food, she exclaims “forget church, this is heaven!” When someone is about to perform, someone says “do your thing, baby Jesus.” Because of his skin color and his past as a magician, Merlin is given the stage name “Black Magic.”
Someone exclaims “Lord have mercy” in a crude context. A reference to prayer also shows up in a sexual context.
When Merlin and former stripper Luther arrive to convince Amos to rejoin the stripper group, we find Amos talking to his congregation about how he’s upset that people aren’t in church, wondering if the reason why is because they’re too tired from clubbing the night before. While he describes the club, he strips out of his over shirt and begins grinding on his congregation, and the women in the congregation visibly stare at his body and throw dollar bills at him.
When the others confront him about his sensuality, he claims that it’s part of a personal release for him, and that he uses his “skillset” as a way to share the gospel and to get more tithe money. Another one of the Chocolate Chips tells Amos that he’s not sure if Amos is “born again, or porn again.” As part of their argument to get Amos to join back in, they ask him “what would Jesus do if He was a whole-a– stripper?”
Amos crosses himself before he goes out to perform. He takes his clothes off to a gospel choir song.
Also as mentioned above, Robin’s maid of honor throws her a bachelorette party complete with male strippers, much to her shock. She tells her friend that she doesn’t think it’s right to be looking at other people when she’s already committing herself to someone. Her friend, however, won’t take no for an answer and forces Robin to go into a bedroom with a stripper to have sex. But when they get inside, Robin makes it clear that she won’t since she wants to stay faithful to the man she’s marrying.
And speaking of stripping—which we’ve done quite a bit of already—that’s pretty much the point of this movie. We see most of the male strippers in their underwear at some point, and we frequently see their accompanying bulges as a result. During Merlin’s final show, he strips down to his underwear, and it’s clear that he’s aroused. We also see female strippers in one scene wearing only bottoms that show their rears. (One woman’s breasts are shown.) We see some extended scenes of the male strippers giving lap dances.
When Merlin’s clown wig gets stuck in a tree, he tries to grab it by using a trampoline, causing the nearby women to stare at his anatomy for a long period of time. Some bullies pull Merlin’s pants down in front of a crowd (he’s allegedly 15 during this scene); because he wasn’t wearing underwear, everyone sees him naked and comment on his crotch. We hear a reference to masturbation. Many women wear dresses that expose cleavage. Merlin uses his endless handkerchief magic trick on a couple occasions: One trick ends with his pair of boxers, and another time it concludes with a woman’s bra attached.
Merlin’s mother (who is creepily also the narrator) exists in this story almost exclusively to talk about how much she loves sex. If I were to list every comment she makes, we’d be here for some time. But because she’s a frequent character in the film, we constantly hear about the men she wants to or used to have sex with, and how she got the deed done.
Verna also tells a 15-year-old Robin that she’s confident that Robin and Merlin won’t do anything because the only women Merlin knows what to do with are in catalogues. Verna tells Merlin about a time where she had anal sex with a man. She also tells us of how she got glitter in her rear the first time she had sex. Verna comments that the best part of a wedding is the honeymoon, and she clarifies that she really means the sex.
We’re told that the club has a “champagne room,” where women can get private showings with the male strippers. We’re also told that they often have sex in there, and we hear a reference to a threesome. A man says he became a doctor in order to create male genital enhancements. He also offers free breast enhancements to the wives of a group of police officers to bribe his way out of going to jail. A woman places a man’s hand on her clothed breast.
A couple men are embarrassed by the size of their genitals. Merlin stays at a hotel called the Vagrant Inn Las Vegas, but its neon lights burn out, causing it to read as “Vagina” instead. This prompts many crude comments by Verna. Merlin and Robin kiss a couple times. A woman complains to another man about her sex life with her husband. We hear a crude phrase about someone losing her virginity. One male stripper comments on how “handsy” the women are. We see women pour ice cream toppings on one stripper’s chest. Plastic models of vaginas are seen at a bachelorette party. A man admits to cheating on his wife. Someone tells a male stripper that he’s not cheating on his wife when he strips for other women.
Verna sexually assaults a crying man in her bed. A bully is assaulted with a coffee thermos. Merlin accidentally lights his legs on fire. Someone says that where he lives is the number one place to commit suicide. Someone tries to choke male stripper Desmond, but he can’t due to Desmond’s obesity. A man gets hit in the crotch with a bowling pin. A man grabs another man’s hand and cracks it.
The n-word is used once. The f-word is heard nearly 25 times, including seven instances that are preceded by “mother.” The s-word is used more than 15 times. We also hear frequent crude language that refers to male and female genitals.
“A–” is frequently used, more than 35 times. We also hear “b–ch,” “d–n” and “h—” about 10 times each. Other vulgarities include “b–tard” and “p-ss.” Women are called “hos.” Someone displays his middle finger.
God’s name is used in vain more 35 times, and nearly 15 of those instances are paired with “d–n.” Jesus’ name is used in vain seven times.
People drink shots and various types of alcohol throughout the film. An underaged woman drinks. Characters smoke cigarettes, and one woman smokes marijuana. People talk about getting intoxicated. A clown smokes a fake cigar. We hear a passing reference to fertility drugs.
Women objectify men throughout the film. A man and woman have an emotional affair.
A white man reveals that he’s been spray painting his body black to fit in with the other Chocolate Chips. Several characters, including police, exhibit racist attitudes toward Blacks.
Someone uses a video to humiliate another person. A woman talks about wetting herself.
I’ll keep it short and simple: There is nothing profitable in this movie for you or anyone you know. Do not spend your money on it.
Looking for a bit longer summary of this film’s issues? Here you go: Back on the Strip is about a group of men who objectify themselves for money for crowds of screaming women. It’s about sex, stripping and objectification—often with women turning the tables and treating men like objects instead of the other way around.
But the film’s producers apparently felt they needed to go a step further in the name of edgy “comedy,” mocking anyone with earnest spiritual convictions about God’s intent for sexuality as well. A pastor says that he strips off his clothes as a form of personal sexual release. He frequently makes offensive comments about the Lord, even saying at one point that causing the women in his church congregation to stumble into sexual sin is a way to spread the gospel.
I could say more, but that’s probably plenty already.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
