Naked News - Backstage A Documentary [Film]

The trials and tribulations of disrobing while imparting the day's news come under the spotlight in `Naked News Backstage'. Lead anchor, Victoria Sinclair points out that the jobs that she and her co-anchors perform are virtually unique. That is undoubtedly true, but this behind-the-scenes look at the show also displays the familiar rituals that beset workplaces the world over: the employee who can't arrive for work on time, computers that don't work, personal issues that can affect job performance, and petty personality conflicts.

This concentration on the show's presenters, while always interesting, means that less time is devoted to its raison d'être. We don't really learn how the stories that are to be shown on a given day are selected. However, we do find out that not every major news story will be aired. For example, a court case that made international headlines throughout its duration was only mentioned on Naked News after the verdict was announced. The show's policy on when disrobing or nudity is inappropriate is also only briefly referred to. Also notable by its absence is the subject of the (now defunct) male version of Naked News.

As for their work, the ladies who present the show are, for the most part, unconcerned with outside perceptions of their occupations. However, April Torres confides that, "My parents believe that I work in a dental office." It should be mentioned, for those who don't watch Naked News, that the nudity is just that: nudity. There's no explicit visual sexual content. Another of the show's anchors, Sandrine Renard puts it best when she describes it as having a "naturist attitude".

The documentary follows ace reporter, Lily Kwan as she decamps from the Naked News base in Toronto, Canada to London, England. Known for carrying out vox pops while topless in various public places, she soon attracts a delighted crowd when she does this in London's Oxford Street. If this were a British sex film, there would be several seconds of scenes of distracted delivery men on bicycles crashing into lampposts and men having accidents with pots of paint up ladders when espying the lovely Lily. In reality though, the police arrive on the scene and are roundly booed when they order Lily to cover up. Spoilsports.

We also see Christine Kerr auditioning and winning a job on the show and Michelle Pantoliano being surprisingly coy about being undressed outside of Naked News. She does, however, specialize in riling her co-workers, notably when Roxanne West takes exception to some smelly food that Michelle threatens to prepare, and Sandrine whose hackles are raised in a discussion about shoes.

Due to youtube policies, some shots are blurred.