Remember going gaga over the hunks in “Magic Mike”? Well, before them, the “Chippendales” were the in-thing.
Interestingly, there is a true-life crime story behind the latter.
And Disney+ is telling it with “Welcome to Chippendales”, which is based on the novel “Deadly Dance: The Chippendales Murders” by K Scot Macdonald and Patrick MontesDeOca.
The eight-part series is set in LA in the ’70s. Indian immigrant Somen "Steve" Banerjee (Kumail Nanjiani) makes a life-changing decision to become an entrepreneur.
While he is financially savvy and has a disruptor mentality, his business model goes through a few fails when he opens Destiny II as a backgammon club.
His chance meeting with club promoter Paul Snider (Dan Stevens) and his bombshell Playboy Playmate wife, Dorothy Stratten (Nicola Peltz) helps him evolve the struggling business, which goes through several failed launches until two-time Emmy-winning choreographer Nick De Noia (Murray Bartlett) comes along.
The club is then renamed Chippendales and the male striptease show for women makes it the hottest spot in town.
Over time, the relationship between Steve and Paul breaks down. Let’s just say, the power struggles and creative differences place them on opposite sides.
While Steve’s wife Irene (Annaleigh Ashford) is the buffer and voice of reason, the tension doesn’t ease as Steve’s jealousy becomes uncontrollable.
Given the sex, drugs and nudity in the series, it is a risky offering for the streaming platform, but it works.
That said, it is a compelling watch, with a magnificent cast, including Juliette Lewis, and a script that is augmented by drama, deception, ambition, sex, nudity and violence.
“Welcome to Chippendales” is built as a rags-to-riches tale but ends as a gritty crime drama with a protagonist who succumbs to dark thoughts and deadly intentions.