Through basic lack of ingenuity and static camera work, most nude showgirl dance tapes wind up being as dull as Bob Dole. This lively edition of the 1996 Miss Nude World pageant held last spring in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina confirms the suspicion that this otherwise dead video genre, like Lazarus, might have a second lease on life.

As it should be pointed out, there were many more contestants who vied for the title than are featured on this tape. The editing is perhaps due to time constraints, not politics. On the other hand, of those ladies selected for ogling, not including the blonde who looks like a female Evander Holyfield, the Beverly Hills Orthodontics Association must be smaking its lips in gleeful anticipation of new blood. To which reassessment of basic stripper nip and tuck strategy might be a consideration. Snaggle teeth aside, however, what we have here, essentially, is a wistful winter's essay on the naked female form—sunshine, sandy beaches and luxurious boats being the vibrant tools to fashion the poetry. Oh, to be a granule of sand and a droplet of tanning oil.

The proceedings of the contest itself are kept to a minimum. You can't thank God for too many small favors.

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