New Release: Magic Mike

Magic Mike looks to be this summer's movie that proves that women will go to the theater.  I went on a Sunday night to my local theater, which usually means we've got a good shot of being the only people in the theater.  This time, it was nearly full, with nary a man in sight.  This continues to prove that if you make decent movies geared toward women, they will show up.
Magic Mike is Channing Tatum's stage persona at Dallas' (McConaughey) Xquisite club of all male dancers.  Mike also does construction where he meets Adam (Alex Pettyfer).  Adam has very little going for him, sleeping on his sister Joanna's (Cody Horn) couch, college dropout, no future really.  Mike brings him to the show one night and Adam sees how easy it can be to make money by taking your clothes off.  There is a lot to like about this movie - but it's mostly the guys.  Magic Mike is basically going to a strip show with a really minimal cover charge and a no drink minimum.  We get to see the various ways these guys (Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Adam Rodriguez, Kevin Nash) perform in all their costumes, and particularly as they take them off - there are a LOT of men in thongs dry-humping women on stage to music.
Off stage, Mike is trying to leverage the money he's made into a life he'd really like - building furniture.  He lives in an awesome house on the beach in Tampa, seems to be making a pretty great life thanks to stripping. But he can't really get a break to move forward on a more legitimate career.  Adam's sister Joanna is the voice of reason (and judgement) commenting on their changing lifestyles.  Adam hasn't really adapted well to having money - he just wants more money, more women, and more drugs quick.  And Joanna blames Mike. You can pretty much guess how it ends, though they try hard to be original and not cliched.
I didn't remember that Steven Soderbergh had directed this until his name flashed on the screen at the end.  And it explained a lot.  Throughout the film you are strangely reminded that it's a film - odd things happen that you don't usually see in movies, actors repeating themselves, walking into things, etc., and playing them off.  Most movies just do an extra take to avoid those "real-life" moments.  I'm guessing in an attempt to make this feel like real people talking, Soderbergh doesn't bother with smoothing out those edges.  But for me, it felt more distracting that realistic. I also think the choice of casting Cody Horn as the female lead was an attempt to make it seem less polished because she was a pretty dreadful actor.  She's cute, funny and with better acting chops will be awesome, but was completely inappropriate here.  Anyone who can make Channing Tatum look like a great actor has some explaining to do.  Final word - go see it for the hot guys, but expect to feel like you should bathe afterward.

2 comments:

  1. Riddle me this: In your heart of hearts, do you think the theatre was packed with women because this was "a movie geared towards women" or because it's a movie where every woman who came knew that they'd be seeing hot guys strippin'?

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  2. I don't think those are mutually exclusive. Do I think a few more women showed up to look at hot guys, probably. I think it was geared toward women because men took their clothes off.

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