Out of work tradesmen who are forced into striptease is not inherently funny. But this film is not just an inditement of the crumbling opportunities for working class men in Russia, but a laugh-out-loud, sexy comedy-of-manners. When hunky Max loses his job at the factory, he is forced to take on work as a male stripper in order to provide for his family. As a morally righteous, old fashioned man, Max is desperate to hide his new profession from his wife and daughter. He lies that he has taken on night shift welding work that brings in considerably more than his old factory job. Naturally he ends up in a series of ridiculous situations trying to maintain his integrity and keep the story straight. Mix into this farce his wife working a former high school flame, Max's hopeless, sex obsessed best friend, his new girlfriend and her perverted mother and we have a recipe for delightful debauchery. This is a raunchy, beautifully crafted comedy that is a little like a Russian Full Monty, but much funnier.
