Top row: Salim Gauwloos, Oliver Crumes III, Carlton Wilborn, and Kevin Stea. Bottom row: Luis Camacho and Jose Gutierez.Linda Posnick
Akin to 2013's 20 Feet from Stardom and a sequel of sorts to 1991's Madonna: Truth or Dare concert doc, Strike a Pose revisits the men who answered the audition ad for "fierce male dancers" and wound up performing on Madonna's massive Blond Ambition tour and engaging in camera-caught pillow-talk moments with the cone-bra superstar.
Of the highlighted seven dancers – momentarily gay icons in their own right – six have survived, some with HIV/AIDS. All tumbled from the spotlight once the tour bubble burst.
A post-tour lawsuit levelled against "motherly" Madonna by two dancers is barely dealt with; the Express Yourself singer herself isn't interviewed. As a result, the affecting film is absent of the truth or dare it had the potential for.
Brad Wheeler