Chocolate City

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Upon its release in 2012, all that anyone could talk about was "Magic Mike." Three years later, a grittier look into the world of male exotic dancers has been released. "Chocolate City," now out on DVD, even goes so far as to name-drop its predecessor in the opening minutes. It's all downhill from there for this low budget cash grab.

"Magic Mike" showed a strip club where all of the dancers were mostly friends, however, in "Chocolate City" viewers get to see the competitive nature of the clubs. Michael is a college student dropped into the world of stripping after randomly meeting the club's owner. With his family struggling and barely being able to make it by himself, Michael finally decides to take the offer after a little encouragement from his deadbeat brother. An instant fan favorite, Michael's popularity creates tension with other dancers. Compounding the problem is that he is trying to keep his new profession a secret while keeping his grades up at school.

Despite its R-rating, "Chocolate City" seems like a more sanitized version of "Magic Mike" during the actual stripping scenes. Aside from an occasional partially exposed butt cheek, the guys only ever end up shirtless with a possible flash of their boxer briefs. Their routines are made up of dance moves that you can find in any regular club across the country.

The film's saving grace is lead actor Robert Ri'chard. He is able to pull off the dramatic scenes, regardless of how bad some of the dialogue might be, and looks good during the more revealing scenes. The lack of nudity stings even more because he looks even better as each article of clothing comes off.

The only special feature included on the DVD is a blooper reel. Unfortunately, the five-minute long reel doesn't include anything really worth seeing. Most of the flubs aren't humorous, so unless you are interested in watching some behind the scenes footage, this isn't for you.

"Chocolate City" offers a glimpse into the darker side of male stripping, showing that it is not just pretty boys smiling in thongs. But it never balances that out with the fun of the dancing scenes in "Magic Mike" or even the campiness of "Showgirls." Without the fun, you should save those dollar bills for the next stripper movie to come along.

"Chocolate City"
DVD Review
$29.98
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