I never thought I’d live to see the day that I actually used Amazon Prime to rent something, as opposed to just sailing the high sees with an eye patch and a parrot. But, here I am, $2.99 poorer and extremely happy that I made the decision to spend that money. Writer, director and friend, Andy Norris (Targeting Iran and Source To Sea: The Columbia River Swim), has finally (after years and years of putting the project together) released his film, The Dancer Diaries, which is based on a book of the same name. And, as much as I like to go into anything strip-club-related with a pessimistic eye and a jaded attitude (even if one of my friends is the creator of said project), after ten minutes of The Dancer Diaries, I was sold like a private dance to a lottery winner with a terminal illness. This is a good film, and I say that having already been paid for my involvement. You’ll catch some of your favorite Portland-area dancers acting (not pretending to act, but actually putting on a performance worthy of the big screen), see some of your favorite locations, watch some amazing pole tricks, witness me try to act and, most importantly, notice that the weed used in the film is real weed (this is my litmus test for whether or not a movie deserves a genuine review—hops get one-starred immediately).
The first thing that caught my eye about the The Dancer Diaries was the professional, sleek camera work and excellent editing. To be blunt, lots of independent movies suffer from shit quality cinematography, bad audio levels and a vibe that says, "This is a crowd-funded passion project— deal with it." However, I’m a stickler for professionalism—especially when it comes to indie films—because it’s not about your budget, but how you use it. Remember back when flicks like Clerks and Friday The 13th did the most with what they could, given their limitations? I miss that era of film making, and Andy Norris clearly does, as well. But, this film is not "low budget" looking by any means of the word, and thus does not rely on black-and-white or conservative use of sets (like the examples I gave above). The Dancer Diaries is polished—clearly an "indie" film (niche subject matter, unknown actors, etc.), but still, extremely polished. To me, this is part of the reason it’s available on Amazon and likely to develop a cult audience to appreciate it, once the film gets out to a wider audience. The point here, is that The Dancer Diaries looks fucking great, and if I didn’t know anyone involved, I would assume that it was produced for ten times the budget that it was.
Next up, let me say that the story and acting are phenomenal. I mention them simultaneously, because they are both worth recognizing for their realness. Contrary to popular Hollywood belief, strippers aren’t all Vegas-bound gold diggers and hustlers with daddy issues and cocaine addictions. Not only does The Dancer Diaries provide a realistic, genuine set of characters, but the "not an actor" actors do a fucking amazing job at acting. I mean, it makes sense that women who are often forced to put on a front while dealing with customers of all varieties are natural actors, but there are times in this movie where I felt like I was, well, hanging out with real- life, off-duty strippers (something I’ve been doing for almost two decades). Unless I missed a Facebook post or something, I’m pretty sure that no one in this movie (who plays a dancer) has prior acting credits. But, you wouldn’t know that. In one particular scene, audiences get to see the most realistic and natural-feeling portrayal of a strip club dressing room that has ever hit the screen—I am not exaggerating. It may come as as disappointment to the Showgirls fans, but it’s not a lesbian drug orgy, back behind the dressing room doors. The conversation between dancers in The Dancer Diaries feels unscripted— but, again, it’s not.
Something worth mentioning is that, while there are some quality pole performances by Portland-famous dancers (some of whom many viewers will recognize), there is not a single drop of nudity in this film. On the same token, there is also not a single unattractive or non-sexy performance in the film, either. Let me point out what I’m getting at—there is a middle ground between exploitative, B-movie sex appeal and super G-rated and politically correct themes. Why? Well, neither of these themes apply to the real world, let alone the strip club industry. Portland strippers, while feminist and progressive in many, many areas (usually the good ones, such as being open to various sexual orientations, genders and body types) are also realistic, in that they’re attractive, in-shape and, well, worth watching on a pole. So, by avoiding both the "she better show her boobs in the next scene" and "these are unattainable standards of beauty" extremes, The Dancer Diaries yet again scores a point in the "real, but in a good way" category. This may be an odd example, but if strippers were serial killers, this film is Henry, not Texas Chainsaw.
My last point of praise (for this review, at least) is that this is a film to be enjoyed by industry vets and people who would never set foot in a strip club. Due to things I’ve already mentioned (great acting, a believable, accurate portrayal of dancers, a lack of explicit nudity, polished visuals and sound, etc.), The Dancer Diaries should appeal to fans of the subculture genre, as a whole. If this was a film that followed, for instance, a handful of punk musicians, skaters, circus performers or any other subculture, it would work. More often than not, films try too hard for mainstream appeal, thus losing the demographic they attempt to cater to (SLC Punk) or they flat-out assume that everyone watching a film will already possess a ton of knowledge regarding the topic at hand (Avengers: Endgame). On the other hand, I look forward to inviting friends over—the ones who refuse to come to watch me "yell at naked ladies"—showing them this film and then telling them that this is who I work with and what I do for a living (swap club ownership for hosting and DJ duties).
Now, it wouldn’t be an honest review if I didn’t mention some things that make the The Dancer Diaries less-than-perfect. Sure, I’m friends with the writer/director and star in the film for a few scenes, but honesty is what keeps my writing career afloat, so I’m gonna be as impartial as possible here. First of all, there is lots of well-written, quality music in the film— but, it’s unlikely that you’ve ever heard it. This, to some, may distract from the film. Familiarity is why certain mainstream songs ("Born To Be Wild," "Spirit In The Sky," etc.) are used over and over in Hollywood films. But, considering that it costs roughly a million dollars to license a few seconds of any popular song, there was no way that The Dancer Diaries would exist if it relied on Guns ‘N’ Roses or Lady Gaga to complete the soundtrack. So, this is more of a complaint that I have with the music licensing industry, than I do the film itself.
Secondly, this film is based on a book, which means that exposition is used in place of narration. Again, this is an unavoidable consequence of the film’s structure and style, but there are certain aspects of the source material (the book, The Dancer Diaries) that I would have liked to see in the film. Yes, the visual version of the story does a great job introducing the characters, but having read the book, I was able to notice certain portions of trimmed fat. So, again on the "this isn’t Andy’s problem" note, my second complaint is basically that the film wasn’t six hours long. Boo hoo.
I recommend that anyone in or around the Portland strip club industry visit Amazon Prime, pay the three dollars (that’s a one-song tip) for the rental and take a look at the first motion picture to ever accurately portray strip club life in our neck of the woods. The Dancer Diaries is more than a film—it’s a love letter to our industry, one that will hopefully lead to a sequel. I mean, Tales From The DJ Booth: The Movie would work, right? Okay, that was cheap. But, so is the rental charge—go watch the film, which can be viewed on any device that plugs into the wall.
Visit DancerDiaries.com for more info if you are interested in distributing the film, or to contact directer and writer, Andy Norris.
