Review:  ‘La Bare’ a feature-length ad for the Dallas male strip club

“La Bare,” actor Joe Manganiello’s documentary about the Dallas male strip club, gyrates to a familiar tune: the trendy interest in muscled dancers generated by the success of the film “Magic Mike,” in which Manganiello appeared.

Being sold as “the true stories behind the magic,” the movie is a pretty straightforward menu of performance footage and interviews with the club’s dancers, past and present — including one still-grinding, slightly wrinkly veteran of 33 years who represents both.

No real context is given for what made male stripping such a late 20th century phenomenon. Meanwhile, the history of La Bare is summed up early (elaborate choreography), then dispensed with so Manganiello can proceed with his feature-length commercial for the joint.

Interviewees — a tatted, cheery bunch from all walks who are tagged on-screen with their stage names in quotes, like “David” or “Bo” — talk about the perks and hassles as if it were a training video, getting suitably misty on cue when discussing a beloved colleague who was murdered.

For the most part, if “La Bare” had snarky voice-over narration, it could be a segment on “The Colbert Report.”

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“La Bare”

MPAA rating: R for sexual content, language, brief graphic nudity.

Running time: 1 hour, 29 minutes.

Playing: At Laemmle’s Music Hall 3, Beverly Hills; Laemmle’s NoHo 7, North Hollywood.