 Striptease received generally negative reviews from film critics . Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun @-@ Times complimented some of the characters , but ultimately concluded the film failed because " all of the characters are hilarious except for Demi Moore 's . " He felt the drama surrounding the main character " throws a wetblanket over the rest of the party . " Ebert also found the nudity not too sexy . Leonard Maltin was harsher , writing in his book that the film was too depressing , and " Not funny enough , or dramatic enough , or sexy enough , or bad enough , to qualify as entertainment in any category . " Barbara Cramer concurred with Ebert that Moore 's character was written too dramatically , compared to other characters . She said the film was predictable and would appeal mostly to " post @-@ pubescent schoolboys or closet voyeurs . " However , Cramer also cited Reynolds ' " his best role in years , " and that Rhames was " worth the price of admission . " Brian D. Johnson of Maclean 's , who thought Moore 's acting was terrible , predicted that despite Moore 's financial success , her career depended on the success of this film and the film was " tacky , pretentious @-@ and boring . " This critic described Striptease as displaying Moore 's vanity . Dave Ansen of Newsweek , sharing Ebert 's view on Moore 's character , also claimed Striptease failed as a drama because it had no mystery , revealing the identity of its villains early . Moreover , the " damsel @-@ in @-@ distress angle generates zero tension . " Daniel P. Franklin , in his book Politics and Film : The Political Culture of Film in the United States went so far as to call Striptease " the worst film ever made " and stated " The film pays homage to Moore 's surgical breast enhancement " . Nathan Rabin , reviewing the film for his series " My Year of Flops " , described the film thus : " Moore 's dour lead performance sabotages the film from the get @-@ go . It 's as if director Andrew Bergman told Moore she was acting in a serious drama about a struggling single mother ... and then told everyone else in the cast that they were making a zany crime comedy filled with kooky characters , sleazy hustlers , dumbass opportunists , and outsized caricatures . " Striptease currently holds a 12 % rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 68 reviews . 
