CHOCOLATE CITY (2015)

Not having seen the Magic Mike films yet I have no basis for comparison, but to me the acting, choreography and storyline of Chocolate City were all pretty awful.  Robert Ri'chard - whom I've been a fan of since he was a kid actor - stars as Michael McCoy, a "good guy" college student flipping burgers to help his mom and deadbeat brother pay the bills, when he's afforded the opportunity to really help out by working as an exotic dancer.  Ri'chard - still maintaining fresh-faced boyish innocence at age 32 - is the best thing about this otherwise passionless ode to African-American beefcake, in which the choreography of all the male dancers looks the same ... and instead of being "hot" makes you sort of want to bathe after watching it.  Factor in staples like the clueless girlfriend, aging and jealous "on his way out" dancer who hates Michael, NO real nudity to speak of, and a ridiculous ending that throws away all Michael was supposed to have learned from this experience, and what's left is something mostly uninteresting (and at times downright painful) to watch. (rated R)  D-