A Wink and a Smile

Ten female students and their one-of-a-kind instructor, Miss Indigo Blue of Seattle's Academy of Burlesque, provide enough inspirational stories, heartfelt commentary and standout showgirl performances to make director Deirdre Timmons' documentary A Wink and a Smile worthy of comparisons to popular reality shows American Idol and Dancing With the Stars.

A week-by-week recounting of the Academy of Burlesque Fall 2007 session from the first class to on-stage graduation, Wink and a Smile is by-the-numbers documentary filmmaking brought to life by its diverse would-be strippers, including an opera singer and a fifty-something mom, the colorful burlesque artists who inspire them and the emotional tales they all share on-camera.

Surprisingly quaint and somewhat innocent, these are burlesque performers after all, not strippers or porn actresses, what Wink and a Smile lacks in controversy and provocative material it makes up with pro-women themes and humanistic storytelling.

First Run Features, which plans a platform release starting in NY May 1, will attract solid word of mouth; important for a small documentary competing for specialty screens. With strong marketing aimed at women's groups, those most likely to respond to the feminist themes throughout the movie, Wink and a Smile can count on a modest core audience. Creative promotion playing up the film's similarities to American Idol and other talent-based reality shows will increase the film's chance at a wider release and enough crossover business to surpass the box office performance of the 2007 First Run Feature documentary For the Bible Tells Me So.

The film's core setback occurs late in the film when Timmons, who edited the film along with cameraman Peter Waweru, declines to show the graduating students perform in their entirety or at any respectable length. Timmons does her subjects a disservice. By film's end we have connected with the students' various stories and reasons for pursuing burlesque. Wink and a Smile demands a payoff, a climactic show, much how American Idol relies on the on-stage drama of its would-be stars.

Footage of veteran performers, especially a petite Asian woman named The Shanghai Pearl and a punk male stripper who goes by Ultra, reveals a burlesque community as varied as the students in the film. At the center of it all and arguably the heart of the film is Indigo Blue, the pretty dark-haired headmistress of the school who discusses her craft with intelligence and passion.

While Wink and a Smile lacks any technical pizzazz—it’s Timmons debut film—the film remains compelling thanks to the students' fascinating face-the-camera interviews. Normally, when a documentary follows a group of people some of the subjects outshine others. With Wink and a Smile, everyone shines. Timmons, who worked as a reporter for 15 years before taking up filmmaking, clearly knows interesting subjects when she meets them. Better yet, Wink and a Smile shows that she can also capitalize on their individual stories. More artful technique will come with her future films.

Distributor: First Run Features
Director: Deirdre Allen Timmons
Producers: Deirdre Allen Timmons and Jack Timmons
Genre: Documentary
Rating: Unrated
Running time: 90 min
Release Date: May 1 NY