Man, I need to go
to the gym more often... and stop drinking, and eating burgers, and chips, and
ice cream, I’ve at least got to start doing some sit-ups; these are many of the
thoughts that will be running through your head as a guy when you watch Magic
Mike XXL. Now where’s that popcorn again?
Essentially this
is the sequel to the highly successful male version of Showgirls but with a
better story, better actors and a whole lot less weird dolphin-style
lap-dance-sex-scenes, although there is one very violated feeling Pepsi fridge.
Channing Tatum and many of the original cast are back from the first film sans
the McConaissance but this time the gang are making their way to a stripper
convention, so the guys load up on leopard print thongs and so much baby-oil
and chapstick that it’s bound to have carcinogenic-effects and hit the road.
Now look, I don’t
need to sell this movie to women. They’re already seeing it now as I speak. All
women need to know is that Channing Tatum dances for some reason and takes his
shirt off for possibly a completely different reason plus there’s a couple of
other guys taking their shirts off and shut up will you Channing Tatum is
dancing shirtless. However, even though this does satisfy all the necessary
quotas for the intended target audience, there is actually a lot for guys to
enjoy here too, if they can get past the whole male-stripper-thing.
O.K. now bear with
me here: if this film had been called Entourage, guys would have been lining up
around the block to see this film. Much like the first film, Magic Mike has all
the same things that the Entourage movie and TV show had: drug-taking, banging
chicks, drinking, bro-talking, talking about banging chicks, pool parties,
beach parties, women in bikinis, cougars, lesbian innuendo, excessive amounts of money and lots
of bro-bonding. It just happens to involve guys stripping. As a matter of fact the parallels between Magic Mike and Entourage extend even further than that: remember that Magic Mike is based on the life experiences of Channing Tatum, much like Entourage is based on the life experiences of Mark Wahlberg.... So you know, maybe we shouldn't be so uptight about a movie featuring a bunch of male strippers.
So outside of
that, there are lots of quality laugh out loud moments that come from the
placement of particular songs in scenes, to the way the guys banter with one
another, to simply getting a smile from a depressed gas-station attendant.
There are also many quality performances from people in smaller supporting
roles and cameos such as Jada Pinkett-Smith, Elizabeth Banks, Andie McDowell
and my personal favourite (because I’m completely biased when it comes to this
guy) Community’s Donald Glover. But it’s mostly Joe Manganiello turn to shine
in this film with some of the funniest moments of the movie that had the
audience rolling around with laughter - my wife seriously turned around to me
and said during one of his scenes, “This is better than Gone With The Wind”....
and she loves that movie.
Now the film is
not without its flaws. They once again have failed to provide Channing Tatum
with a believable or interesting love interest as they have cast an incredibly
beige lead with Amber Heard. Some of the characters that are part of the stripping crew don't really get much screen time or character development, which does make you wonder why they are in the film in the first place besides just additional eye-candy. Kevin Nash returns for another serving in the film and whilst he has some funny moments, it is clear that he is very immobile so he looks very out of place amongst all the other back flipping, knee-popping, bumping and grinding. The climax, no pun intended, is also a little
uneven and may not necessarily be to everyone’s taste, no pun intended there
either, and the ending itself feels a little empty as nothing is really explained
or resolved.
Ultimately, Magic
Mike XXL is going to bring in the ladies, but the big question will be, are you
man-enough to sit down and watch this movie with your wife, girlfriend or
partner considering they always sit next to you every time you drag them to see
another Avengers movie?
Magic Mike XXL gets Four out of Five Stars (or Four out of Five
pregnant Pepsi fridges)
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