‘Welcome to Chippendales’ Doesn’t Expose Much

Before there was Magic Mike and its lucrative live show, there was Chippendales. The franchise still exists to this day, but the male burlesque has long been a pop cultural punch line; it’s more likely you first saw the signature uniform—bow ties over bare chests—on SNL than onstage. This aura obscures the genuine subversion of the Chippendales concept, which got slightly more respect when attached to an auteur like Steven Soderbergh.