When we were offered tickets to check out the premiere of Magic Mike (courtesy of Warner Bros.) we jumped at the opportunity. A rom-com combined with a good-looking cast about an all-male revue? We’re in.
Off we went, popcorn in hand along with our good friend Paul to check out the flick. Below we give you a he said/we said review of various aspects of the show – as we don’t want to give too much away!
On Channing Tatum:
He said: “Loads of charm, and a hint of that deceiving bad boy-actually-good attitude that just won’t quit, much like his ass. Obviously, the best dancer and, yes, when he dances it’s like you’re watching Step Up 2: The Streets one though.”
We said: “We didn’t blink. Between his dancing and abs, he had us at ‘hello’. Well done, Channing. Well done. Now, take your shirt off.”
On Cody Horn:
He said: “The role of Brooke (Cody Horn), The Kid’s sister and Mike’s love interest, might as well have been cast with Kristin Cavallari. I mean, I just can’t deal. Olivia Munn, who plays risky bisexual Joanna and has an affair with Mike pre-Brooke, might as well have taken the entire lead to herself.”
We said: “Meh. She didn’t do it for us as a female lead. Between her permanent frown/scowl and no-fun attitude, we just couldn’t figure out why this (hot) stripper with a heart of gold was going for a girl like that.”
Nudity:
He said: “There is a ton of butt cheeks, and bare chests. A few boobs for good measure. But sadly, the only penis you get to see is almost out of focus and in a pump. (Yes, a penis pump.)”
We said: “It was done as tastefully as possible. There was serious eye candy and come on, we are talking about male strippers here.”
Performance sequences:
He said: “The ‘performances’ keep the movie afloat because – hah – as if you would come for anything else. There are some bigger numbers, and none will bore you. A big plus: smaller montages give a glimpse into the various acts they perform, each based on traditional male archetypes: firefighter, doctor, cop, basketball player, etc. Sometimes, you don’t even see them take anything off. Expect something like this and this. Actually, it’s more like male burlesque, and heavy on the funny factor because, well, assless leather chaps.”
We said: “There was a great variation in the routines, which, as dance-based movie aficionados, we can appreciate. We were particularly fond of their ‘It’s Raining Men‘ routine, with Channing’s solo act to Ginuwine as a close second. We went on a cross-country journey with these guys as we saw cowboys, Tarzan, and hip-hop dancers, (oh my!).”
He said: “Mike describes the appeal of stripping as ‘women, money and a good time.’ That basically sums up the movie. What they don’t tell you is that it’s set to a soundtrack of drugs, booze and dubstep. And the conflict is forced at best because, well, just wait until you see the ending.”
We said: “Again, it was a story about a male stripper who discovered friendship and good times but more importantly, himself. Aww.”
Does it live up to the hype/trailer:
He said: “In the era of easy access Internet porn, the trailer promised the flick would be visually stimulating. And yeah, it lived up to that promise in spades but with no real climax. There was no promise of a real story either, so that checks out. But once it’s over, it’s over – just like the trailer.”
He said: “In the era of easy access Internet porn, the trailer promised the flick would be visually stimulating. And yeah, it lived up to that promise in spades but with no real climax. There was no promise of a real story either, so that checks out. But once it’s over, it’s over – just like the trailer.”
We said: “We went in with lowered expectations, especially in relation to the story line. While the plot followed your standard rom-com format, it was a fun flick to watch, despite the whole Cody Horn element.”
Overall sexiness:
He said: “I would have liked more screen time with the other guys. Tatum is hot, sure, but you can only look at his face for so long. Also, director Soderbergh sorely under-used Pettyfer and Rodriguez’s sex symbol potential. And, as I’ve found with male stripping, sexiness is sacrificed for humor because, well, you decide.”
We said: “We agree with Paul. More Manganiello, Bomer and McConaughey would have been nice. We also thought Munn was lovely and would have been a better fit for the female lead.”
Final thoughts:
He said: “Soderbergh is Soderbergh, and he tries to bring his trademark mix of depth, intrigue and action to a script that simply can’t support it. You can tell he really tries to stylize the film in his own way with his sequencing and camera choices, but he’s trying to reach a level of intellect that no one ends up caring about because – hello! – ABS. If Gus Van Sant directed this, now that would be some grimy hot realness and we’d be seeing the full frontal. Still, it was fun in a way that Showgirls and Striptease and Burlesque was fun.”
He said: “Soderbergh is Soderbergh, and he tries to bring his trademark mix of depth, intrigue and action to a script that simply can’t support it. You can tell he really tries to stylize the film in his own way with his sequencing and camera choices, but he’s trying to reach a level of intellect that no one ends up caring about because – hello! – ABS. If Gus Van Sant directed this, now that would be some grimy hot realness and we’d be seeing the full frontal. Still, it was fun in a way that Showgirls and Striptease and Burlesque was fun.”
We said: “It was fun! Soderbergh brought us some good laughs, we danced in our seats, we (almost) cried and we had a good time watching theses abs. We mean dancers. Just don’t expect a sequel. However, we will want to interview Matthew McConaughey’s children once they watch it.”
