Magic Mike (Channing Tatum) is a male stripper and a very good one at that. He’s been performing for years at Club Xquisite which is run by Dallas (Matthew McConaughey), but his passion lies in entrepreneurship and trying to jumpstart his dream business of designing cool furniture. While helping this guy Adam (Alex Pettyfer) out, Mike sees potential in him and ends up giving the 19 year old a shot. When the newly dubbed ‘Kid’ embraces the world of stripping it becomes a summer of good times: sex, partying and easy money. Things start to change for both as the Kid becomes engrossed in the stripping lifestyle and Mike begins to show an interest in his sister, Brooke (Cody Horn), but his Magic Mike persona and lifestyle is the one thing that’s blocking him from getting a chance with her.
Let me lay it all out for you before I dive into the specifics. Magic Mike, which is directed by Steven Soderbergh, has penis pumps, assless chaps, men in thongs, stripping montages , Kevin Nash, a few laughs and then takes a dive straight into a pool of some serious drama, using partying and titties as a distraction.
Ladies, you’ll love the first half of the movie but by the end of the film you’ll wish you had walked out when the drama starts to kick in. All I ask is that you don’t bring a stack of singles to throw at the screen, only the creepy guy sitting a few rows in front of you is going to be the one that picks up them bills and then he thinks you’re into him. You’ve been warned.
Guys, it’s best if you let your girl go with her girlfriends for this one because not only do you have built, naked men running around on screen, they’re guys that these chicks love seeing without their shirts on; Channing Tatum (who was a former stripper) and Matthew McConaughey alone make woman swoon, imagine them together. You’re screwed. If you do go, find solace in the fact that you at least get to see Olivia Munn and a few other ladies topless and that Kevin Nash and Gabriel Iglesias are in the film, but other than that, don’t get your hopes up or just don’t go.
When one thinks back on the performances, which you should never do when it comes to movies starring Tatum or McConaughey, I actually thought they were pretty decent. Tatum is essentially playing himself with a little of his Step Up role thrown into the mix while McConaughey was practically born for his role. Pettyfer’s performance was nothing special and neither was t
he rest of the dance team. Cody Horn was fine as the respectable but uptight sarcastic sister and Olivia Munn offered brief glimpses of pure joy for the men in the crowd. It may have been an inconsistent batch of performances but it all worked well together.
I’ve seen a good amount of Soderbergh films, but I think out of the ten that I’ve seen, I dislike Magic Mike the most. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I was expecting a straight comedy when it was it was really a comedy/drama. You might say shame on me, but I guarantee that 95% of the movie going audience that sees this is expecting comedy consistently throughout and that’s not what they’re going to get. I’m not saying the drama is bad, because it is actually works and probably gives an accurate portrayal of the lifestyle many of these men lead but, by the end, which is very anti-climactic and mostly predictable, you understand the vicious circle that exists in the world of stripping in general.
Overall, as a man, Magic Mike was mostly miserable save for the random comedic bits. For the ladies, it’ll be like an imaginary trip to the strip club with your ladies followed by the depressing thought that you have to return to regular guys and actual drama. For film buffs, consider this a failure for Steven Soderbergh as he uses loud noises and crazy partying in an attempt to distract us from the film’s weak script and generic storyline.
Rating: Even a lot of sexual distractions aren’t enough to prevent you from realizing how disappointing this film is (3.5)
Recent Comments