This melancholy film explores the intersecting lives of five exotic dancers who work at a San Fernando Valley strip club, the Blue Iguana. None of them have it easy. Angel (Darryl Hannah) wishes she could take in a foster child or have a baby of her own - but her messy, dysfunctional existence makes this an impossible dream. Joe (Jennifer Tilly) is pregnant, but wants an abortion, and can barely keep her rage at the world contained. Jasmine (Sandra Oh) writes beautiful poetry on the side--but doesn't have the confidence to read her work aloud or take it seriously. Jesse (Charlotte Ayanna) looks for love but instead gets beaten by her boyfriend; and Stormy (Sheila Kelley) tries to forget the great love of her life: her brother.
Director Michael Radford won the Best Foreign Film Academy Award for his sensitive IL POSTINO in 1994. DANCING AT THE BLUE IGUANA was in part developed through improvisational workshops in which the actors helped to come up with their own characters and storylines for the film; this experimental preparatory work was then shaped into a screenplay by Mr. Radford. But the true focus of the film is on the dance sequences; each woman expresses her hopes and sorrows using her body to communicate her feelings.
Theatrical Release: OCTOBER 19, 2001 (LA/NY)
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Single Side - Dual Layer
Full Frame - 1.33
Additional Release Material:
Featurette: STRIP NOTES (Behind the Scenes) Directed by Daryl Hannah
Audio Commentary:
1. Michael Radford - Director
2. Daryl Hannah - Star
3. Sheila Kelly - Star
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus: Full-Motion Menus
Director of Photography
Ericson Core: Director Of Photography
Review 1:
"...DANCING AT THE BLUE IGUANA boasts a number of unusually well-acted scenes..."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.41-2 07/01/2002
Review 2:
"...An acting showcase that allows its stars to strut their emotional range..."
Source: New York Times
p.E24 10/19/2001
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