Back on the Strip

Merlin wants to be a magician and keeps getting in his own way. During a magic act at school his trousers come down, and the audience stops watching his hands. His mother Verna, who worked in Las Vegas years ago, buys him a one-way ticket and sends him there to make something of himself. That is where 'Back on the Strip' starts.

The film is the first feature directed by the comedian Chris Spencer, who came to it from writing television comedy, and it sits somewhere between stage magic and male stripping. Wesley Snipes, who was in 'Dolemite Is My Name', and Tiffany Haddish, who broke through with 'Girls Trip', lead it and produce it. Most reviewers reached for 'Magic Mike' and 'The Full Monty' to describe it.

At a motel run by Rita, an old friend of his mother's, Merlin finds posters of the Chocolate Chips, the male revue that used to pack rooms in the city. When his trousers come down again, this time in front of a women's group, Luther sees it happen. Luther was the star of the act before an accident cost him a leg, and he walks with a cane. He decides to get the old team back together and bill the boy as the new headliner, under the name Black Magic.

The rest of the group has moved on to other things. Da Body (Faizon Love) runs a body shop, Amos (J.B. Smoove) preaches in a church without having lost any of his appetite, Da Face (Bill Bellamy) is at home with quadruplet daughters and Dr X (Gary Owen) operates with his mask on. Between rehearsals Merlin tries to win back Robin, his school sweetheart, who is about to marry an influencer.

Spencer wrote the script with Eric Daniel and shot in Las Vegas, with Spence Moore II as Merlin and Raigan Harris as Robin. Colleen Camp plays the motel owner and Kevin Hart turns up for one scene as an outraged father at a children's party. It opened in American cinemas on 18 August 2023 with $411,410 from 1,318 screens, good for fourteenth place and not much more: the run finished at around $700,000. British viewers got it on 18 December that year, rated 15, and it can be rented or bought on Apple TV. It runs 112 minutes, and the reviews were poor: 25% on Rotten Tomatoes and an average of 4.8 out of 10 from the eleven outlets collected here.

• Comedy
• Drama