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Movies / On DVD / A Wink and a Smile
A Wink and a Smile

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A Wink and a Smile (2009)

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Reviews Counted:15

Fresh:6

Rotten:9

Average Rating:5.2/10

Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Synopsis: An intoxicating mix of private thoughts and public behavior, A Wink and a Smile exposes more than the human body by putting gender, power, sexuality and social identity under the glittery... An intoxicating mix of private thoughts and public behavior, A Wink and a Smile exposes more than the human body by putting gender, power, sexuality and social identity under the glittery spotlight, as it follows the lives of ten "ordinary" women who do something extraordinary – learn the art burlesque dancing and striptease. Through their adventures, we see how a homemaker, a reporter, a doctor, an opera singer, a taxidermist and a college student, join the American cultural revival of burlesque, as it moves from fringe fascination to mainstream obsession, engaging a world where performance art and showgirl spectacle, music, theater and sensuality crash into over-the-top glamour - a world where many want to go, but very few dare. --© First Run Features [More]

Starring: Miss Indigo Blue, Shanghai Pearl

Starring: Miss Indigo Blue, Shanghai Pearl

Director: Deirdre Timmons

Director: Deirdre Timmons
Producer: Jack Timmons, Deirdre Timmons
Studio: First Run Features

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Reviews for A Wink and a Smile

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1 - 15 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Deirdre Timmons' empowering "A Wink And A Smile" follows ten Seattle women -- a homemaker, doctor, singer, taxidermist, student and others -- as they venture forth to self discovery by learning striptease and integrating the spirit of burlesque into their

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
06/27/09
Jennifer Merin
Jennifer Merin
About.com

Elegantly shot...and nicely paced, A Wink and a Smile is most appealing in its depiction of the growing camaraderie of the students.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
05/14/09
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

These would be fascinating people to interview, but unfortunately the focus instead is on the more mundane concerns of the students, whose graduating performances are puzzlingly shown only in glimpses.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
05/08/09
Stan Hall
Stan Hall
Oregonian

The filmmaker's inability to master the form that the film is clearly set up to fulfill, leaves the audience feeling cheated out of a promised warts-and-all payoff.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
05/05/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

The movie is an excruciating documentary about ordinary women taking a burlesque class in Seattle.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
05/01/09
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post

What Wink and a Smile lacks in controversy and provocative material it makes up with pro-women themes and humanistic storytelling.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
05/01/09
Steve Ramos
Steve Ramos
Boxoffice Magazine

Skin-deep look at students in a Seattle school for stripping.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
05/01/09
Daniel Eagan
Daniel Eagan
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Just as burlesque loses most of its oomph when put on video -- no art is more dependent on the intimacy of live performance -- self-esteem trips are less compelling to hear about than to experience firsthand.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/01/09
Nathan Lee
Nathan Lee
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

self-important

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
04/30/09
Paul Brenner
Paul Brenner
Filmcritic.com

Timmons shortchanges them by failing to show any of the graduating acts in their entirety. Talk about a strip-tease.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
04/30/09
Raven Snook
Raven Snook
Time Out New York

Highly entertaining docu A Wink and a Smile provides an eye-opening lesson in the theory and practice of stripping.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/30/09
Ronnie Scheib
Ronnie Scheib
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In Deirdre Allen Timmons’ A Wink and a Smile, she delves into the making of a sexy performer by infiltrating Miss Indigo Blue’s Academy of Burlesque in Seattle.

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment Comment
04/29/09
Linnea Covington
Linnea Covington
New York Press

A Wink and a Smile struck me as 90 minutes of narcissism with a hyper-feminist slant, and no erotic charge whatsoever.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
04/29/09
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer

Hurray to these lovely ladies for summoning up the courage to serve up an evening's worth of genuinely erotic, yet somehow simultaneously wholesome, adult entertainment. But enough is enough. I just pray none of them are tempted to quit their day jobs."

Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment Comment
04/29/09
Kam Williams
Kam Williams
NewsBlaze

The tension between wanting to root for these women and ultimately being faced with what you're rooting for goes completely unresolved.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
04/28/09
Michelle Orange
Michelle Orange
Village Voice
 
 
1 - 15 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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April 28, 2009: Hurray to these lovely ladies for summoning up the courage to serve up an evening's worth of genuinely erotic, yet somehow simultaneously wholesome, adult entertainment. But enough is enough. I just pray none of them are tempted to quit their day jobs. Opens in new window
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