Magic Mike

Starring: Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey, Cody Horn, Olivia Munn, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodriguez, Gabriel Iglesias
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2012

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A male stripper (Channing Tatum) discovers a young protege (Alex Pettyfer) and introduces him to the luxurious, controversial world of stripping.

Review:

Tim: It's easy to dismiss Magic Mike as "that male stripper movie." Yes, that is one way to look at it, but keep in mind this is a film directed by Steven Soderbergh. There was always going to be more to this film than muscled men stripping while women screamed. That is what makes this movie special- it would have been so easy to make a stupid, eye-candy only movie. Soderbergh manages to tell a pretty powerful, interesting story that only happens to be set in the world of male strippers.

Speaking of male strippers, there's a ton of stripping scenes. I have to say this was not my favorite aspect of the film. The stripping scenes were well choreographed, and I suppose were fun in their own kind of way. What I liked about them is that they were used to push the story forward. We don't get very many gratuitous stripping scenes that serve no purpose- the stripping scenes always help with character development or moving the story forward. That's not easy to do, but this film manages to pull it off. And, I will say that after this film, I still don't like Channing Tatum, but the dude has some serious stripper moves.

The story is good, but it isn't perfect. I like the idea of a young man getting exposed (ha) to the stripping world. We see his meteoric rise, as well as the challenges and problems that come with such a lifestyle change. The film does a good job of introducing us to this seedy, cash-filled, glamorous (in a sad way) world. It's certainly interesting, and a bit of a unique experience. Stripper movies have been done before, but usually not involving males, and usually not as informative as this one. The best movies transport us to another place, giving us inside looks at a world that is not our own. That's exactly what this movie does- it transports us inside a male strip show business. While it'll never be my favorite destination to go to, it's hard not to be intrigued by this world.

Channing Tatum is decent in the lead role. I'm still not convinced that he is a great actor, and he didn't do much to change my mind here. As the male stripping world is very familiar to Tatum, he appeared extremely comfortable in this film. That always helps a performance. As I mentioned, the guy has some impressive stripper moves, so I suppose he's got that going for him. I have seen him in many films at this point, and I don't think I have ever been truly impressed with him. I doubt I ever will.

Alex Pettyfer was a very good addition to the cast. His role is so incredibly important, because it's through his eyes that we are introduced to this world. He was quite good in the film. He interacted well with Tatum, and these two guys interacting was one of the most entertaining aspects of the film. Olivia Munn was fine, but didn't add much to the movie. I did really enjoy Cody Horn. I've only been slightly exposed to her work before, but she impressed me here. She gave a really good performance. I also loved seeing Joe Manganiello here, although I didn't love how much of him I saw.

I have to highlight the performance of Matthew McConaughey. McConaughey isn't always a great actor, but he was terrific in his supporting role here. He adds so much to the film. He clearly loved the role, and brought energy and enthusiasm to the role. McConaughey gives one of those scene-stealing performances that make the entire film around him better. Of course, he gets his own stripping scene, and he manages to pull it off. There's several good performances in this film, but McConaughey is clearly the best of them all.

While there's much to like here, the film also has some real flaws. I do feel like as the film progresses, the stripping scenes start to outweigh the story development ones. The film was believable up to the scenes with the drugs start emerging. I felt like the story just took a turn for the worse. The end of the film was quite weak, in my eyes. We've watched these characters for quite a while, and I wanted a real, worthwhile resolution. I did not feel like we got that with McConaughey's character or Pettyfer's. Tatum and Horn do have a nice moment together toward the end. The conclusion of the film just felt rushed and unsatisfying.

I'm shocked that not only did I not hate Magic Mike, I actually liked it. I was very relieved that there was significantly more to this movie than watching men strip. While the story was a bit uneven and a bit forgettable, I appreciate the effort to add some meat (ha) to the story. Steven Soderbergh is a very good director, but I rarely love his work. This film is quite good, which is an achievement to be sure. Unfortunately, the story had some major limitations, which decreased the overall emotional impact of the story. Still, this could have been an awful, Striptease-like film. I applaud Soderbergh for creating something much better than that.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



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