A Bunny’s Tale 1985

Kirstie Alley stars as Gloria Steinem, a magazine writer tapped to investigate Hugh Hefner’s nightclub empire. To do so, she adopts the alias Marie and enters the Bunny training program at the New York City Playboy Club. Inside the club, she learns the routine of serving drinks, the infamous “bunny dip,” and how to handle patrons within Hefner’s look but don’t touch policy. Early on, she encounters Miss Renfro Mary Woronov in her Bunny role, offering a stark view of the club’s hierarchy and the pressure the workers face.

As she adjusts to her undercover life, Steinem witnesses the financial strains, vulnerability, and dignity challenges faced by the women who work as Bunnies. The film exposes the exploitative nature of the job: low wages, tip sharing, mandatory fees for costume upkeep, and a culture that reduces the workers to sexual objects, even as the club projects a pristine, glamorous image.

Through the undercover assignment, Steinem experiences an awakening about gender roles and the exploitation hidden beneath the Playboy lifestyle’s glittering surface. The narrative also traces a dramatic subplot involving her boyfriend, James T. Callahan as Phil, who confronts friction and crisis when he learns about her secret life. This personal tension adds emotional weight and underscores the broader conflict between private life and public advocacy.

Ultimately, these experiences supply Steinem with material and conviction that would help launch her career as a powerful feminist voice, illustrating how curiosity and courage in the face of systemic sexism can fuel lasting social change.