Aiming for the intellectual jugular as well as the evocative jocular, Strip Poker frequently scores a simultaneous hit on both lobes.  (Had Samuel Beckett been a pornographer, he'd probably be drawing an inside straight against Harold Pinter instead of Waiting For Godot.)

What, pray tell, has a game of cards to do with existentialist playwrights?  As Shakespeare said, "The play's the thing," and that (along with Jordan Lee) is exactly what off-off, way-off Broadway Director Alex Sanders is attempting to mount - a wacky evening of amatory metaphors, indecent innuendo and flushed straights.  (Best acting nom's loom presciently for Sanders, who unravels like a flea-market hook rug.)

The aforementioned encounter, which actually caps the story as Lee's consolation prize to Sanders for having produced a one-night curtain-closer, is a fairly scorching event.  Proof that anticipation makes the "hard" grow harder, Lee and Sanders engage in a bit of cat 'n mouse foreplay before the usual mish 'n squish, uplifting the scene from the ordinary.  A big spooze-o-la on her kisser goes a long way, too.

"These characters are supposed to be fucked up," Sanders barks at auditioners Tom Byron and Melissa Monet.  "You're from Los Angeles - you've had lots of practice!"  True, for though the actors are neophytes, their experience in the fervent footlights is beyond reproach.  Again, tease and a gorgeous penetration shot will have viewers painting with grease.

Although the Spartan backstage rehearsal environment actually increases believability, the vid occasionally cuts away to "script doctor" Tom Chapman and a number of floozies patrolling his office.  Nikki Sinn discovers the doc's creative juices by way of an expert, deep throat oral examination, and a subsequent ride on his rocket as he spreads her ass cheeks like a breakfast croissant.  (Sadly, her rectal roll goes unbuttered.)  Not the case with Brick Majors and Tess Newheart, whose "theater in the round" receives a rather obscure penetration, though subsequent shots deliver the act.

Those who appreciate a mental tickle with their pickle will love to play Strip Poker.  Raincoaters, however, may exit, stage left - field.  Market accordingly.  A strong box with Shelby Stevens will help.