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Hollywood
producers have long mined the pop culture zeitgeist in search of
the next big blockbuster. Subjects as diverse as western bars (Urban
Cowboy, 1980) and aerobics (Perfect, 1985) to the current
dance craze (Lambada and The Forbidden Dance, both
from 1990) have all found their way to the local cineplex. In the
early 80's, when the fine art of male burlesque experienced a surge
in popularity, it was only a matter of time before the story of
a male stripper (and the women who love him) made it to the big
screen. A Night in Heaven (1983) was the first (and only)
big screen look into the dramatic and tumultuous world of men who
take it off for cash.
As
the Bryan Adams song "Heaven" plays over the opening credits,
nice guy rocket scientist Whitney Hanlon (Robert Logan) gets on
his recumbent bike and rides and rides and rides. He finally arrives
home in time to kiss his wife goodbye. Faye Hanlon (Leslie Ann Warren)
is a teacher at a Florida community college. With her hair in a
bun and wearing an oversized pair of eyeglasses, Warren looks to
be the very definition of a conservative school marm. During her
speech class, she listens intently as young Rick Monroe (Christopher
Atkins) gives a lackluster presentation.
"You
say what you say well, but you have nothing to say," she puzzlingly
criticizes. She doesn't fall for his good looks or fast-talking
charm (at least not yet) and gives him a failing grade on his final
exam.
That
evening, Faye prepares for a night out with her sister Patsy (Deborah
Rush) who is visiting from out of town. Once they're all gussied
up, she tells Faye, "You look like a hibiscus in bloom."
It's meant as a compliment, but Faye looks more like a Ramada Inn
cocktail waitress than an exotic flower.
The
girls head to a local nightclub, Heaven, where a touring group of
male strippers are performing. The women shriek and giggle as a
motley crew of guys strip down to their g-strings. As we're forced
to watch them shake what little they've got, it's hard to imagine
that anyone, anywhere, at anytime, could have found what they're
doing sexy.
The
M.C., who spouts lame double entendres and groan inducing puns,
announces that it is time for the main event. From a flurry of bubbles
and dry ice fog emerges a man in a silver space suit. When he removes
his space helmet, Faye is shocked to find that "Ricky the Rocket"
is her handsome speech student Rick.
"I
just flunked that kid in my class!" Faye shouts over the loud
music.
"You
did what to his ass?" a friend comically tries to clarify.
"Give
him an A!" Patsy crows as Rick, much to the delight of the
female crowd, strips out of his costume.
Faye
gets positively googly-eyed after Rick grinds his crotch in her
face. They share a deep soul kiss before he continues his routine
and elicits tips from the eager club patrons.
At
home in bed, Faye tries to initiate marital relations with her husband,
but is rebuffed. As it turns out, nice guy Whitney has just been
fired over a matter of principal. He refused to shift his focus
to government weapons research.
At
a college art show, Rick explains to Faye that he strips to pay
for school and hopes to get into hotel management (?!) as a way
to care for his hard working mother. The hard luck story doesn't
impress her.
"I'm
not grading your mother's life. I'm grading your… performance."
"How
did you like my performance?"
Before
Faye can answer she must introduce her husband to the student stripper
who has peaked her interest.
Though
she'd rather stay at home with Whitney, Faye is lured back out by
her sister. At the club, Faye watches as "Mountain Man Dean"
works the crowd. When an aggressive bachelorette removes his g-string,
she faints at the sight of his "tree trunk". The moment
is played for laughs, but only serves to point out how the story
veers from feminism to misogyny without ever making its intentions
clear. Are these modern women free spirits who can have their cake
and eat it too? Or are they adulterous nincompoops? What exactly
is this movie trying to say?
Whitney
tries to get a job as a video game developer, but nothing comes
of it. In an obvious moment of foreshadowing, it is revealed that
Whitney (the pacifist scientist and former Air Force pilot) is a
gun enthusiast.
Patsy's
visit is cut short and she must return home. At the airport she
reveals that her wild behavior during her time with Faye was a brief
attempt to escape her troubled marriage. Faye gives her a pep talk
and sends her on her way.
Faye
finally beds her collegiate dreamboat in her sister's vacated motel
room. Thunder and rain outside their window sets the mood. Rick
puts her hand down his pants before taking her for a ride. Atkins
strips naked while Warren remains fully clothed during their love
scene.
Patsy
calls Whitney to let him know that she make it back to Chicago safe
and sound. Since Faye isn't spending time with her sister, Whitney
begins to wonder just who exactly she is spending time with. Faye
leaves the hotel room to teach a class. When she returns that evening,
she finds Rick in the shower with his white trash girlfriend.
It's
from this point that the movie spirals towards its gonzo climax.
In the hotel lobby, nice guy Whitney turns Dirty Harry and kidnaps
Rick at gunpoint, "I wanna see you dance." He takes the
kid in a boat and goes out onto the water somewhere. Whitney then
makes him strip naked and explain himself. "Where do you get
off fucking my wife?"
Looking
down the barrel of a gun, Rick blubbers like a baby and whines that,
"I though she was lonely."
Wrong
answer. Whitney fires the gun and shoots several holes in the bottom
of the boat, leaving Rick to fend for himself.
After
each of their escapades, Faye and Whitney sit down together at their
kitchen table and, with only a few words between them, all is forgiven.
As the camera pulls back and Bryan Adams begins to sing, you may
ask yourself, "Is that it?" The answer is yes. After that
anti-climatic resolution the movie is over.
Directed
by John G. Avildsen (Rocky, 1976) and written by Joan Tewkesbury
(Nashville, 1976) it would seem that, despite it's salacious
subject matter, an honest attempt was made to make A Night in
Heaven a worthwhile drama. The fact that the end result was
more salacious than serious probably has something to do with the
question that has plagued Hollywood from the very beginning. Are
movies art or are they commerce? In this particular case, art may
have fallen by the wayside in favor of the film's more marketable
aspects (i.e. Sex).
Though
no "making of" featurette is included on the DVD, it's
pretty easy to guess what went on behind the scenes while making
this 80's gem. The script offers a few clues as to what might have
been. Along with the main story between the schoolteacher and her
student, Tewkesbury introduces several secondary characters whose
lives all intersect with one another. These characters were undoubtedly
meant to support the main characters and add depth to the story.
Unfortunately, they're never given the chance to do so.
As
one of the characters who have no real effect on anything, Deney
Terrio (also the film's choreographer) plays one of Rick's friends
who loses his janitorial job at NASA. By the film's end he turns
to stripping for cash. His comical dancing debut is oddly intercut
with Whitney and Rick's naked moonlit boat ride. When Rick's sister
is introduced into the story, she moves away moments later to be
with her jailbird boyfriend. At one point Whitney even flirts with
a former female co-worker but nothing ever comes of this plot point
either.
Though
there is no definitive source that says so, it feels as if the plot
was slowly whittled down until only the most marketable aspects
of the story (the stripping and the sex) were left. Considering
that the movie clocks in at a meager 83 minutes, this is the most
likely scenario.
A
Night in Heaven is filled with the sights, sounds and attitudes
of the Regan era. For some, this cheesy cinematic artifact may be
a welcome walk down memory lane. For others, it may represent a
bygone era that is best forgotten. The unanswered question is, would
former "It" boy Christopher Atkins belong to the first
group or the latter?
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