Magic Mike XXL
Go! Stripping with its tongue firmly in its cheek (the one on your face).
Male entertainers are people too.
After 2012's Magic Mike quietly thrust its way to $167 million worldwide (that's a lot of $1s), a sequel was probably inevitable. In Magic Mike XXL the spray tans and lumpen loins are back. The original was a bit of a surprise - light-hearted, well-shot, and even well-acted (particularly when Matthew McConaughey was on screen). Oh, and super-hunk Channing Tatum was also shirtless a fair bit, which seemed to be a popular aspect of the film among some people. Nevertheless, given that McConaughey and director Steven Soderberg are both out of the sequel, Magic Mike XXL is immediately a different kettle of fish. While those fish will undoubtedly still be oily, smooth-skinned and look delicious to certain eyes, is the kettle that contains them still as shiny?
The story begins three years on from Magic Mike. The eponymous sorcerer is running a successful custom furniture business and happily living the simple life with his girlfriend...Until the remaining members of his former strip crew, (the rockin' "Kings of Tampa") persuade him to take a road trip to a stripper convention (ostensibly a massive, all-day, male stripping show) for one last well-hung hurrah before they all retire. It's a road trip movie with a big lead up to the final show, which makes it a little like Little Miss Sunshine, but with more penis jokes. A lot more.
The story is a rudimentary one, but is a perfect vehicle for delivering exactly what Magic Mike XXL wants to do, which is have a bit of a laugh and flash a bit of skin. With all of its wobbly bits, male stripping should never be taken too seriously and the film freely subscribes to that. As a result, in spite of the moments of up-front eroticism and puerile humour it is a strangely sweet and innocent film. It is about each of the strippers finding themselves; reaffirming that they, as people, are more than mere handsome slabs of greasy meat; and that their jobs as "male entertainers" they can offer more than just their naked bodies. In the questionable age of Fifty Shades of Grey, these dudes just want to make women of every shape, size, colour, age and taste feel loved and attended to - which is no bad thing. Mike, Ken, Tarzan, Tito and even Big Dick Richie are just fun-loving guys with open hearts and, coincidentally, open trousers. It cleverly ends up trying to be a film about the enjoyment of womens' sexuality, rather than the sexual appetites of the men on stage.
The story is a rudimentary one, but is a perfect vehicle for delivering exactly what Magic Mike XXL wants to do, which is have a bit of a laugh and flash a bit of skin. With all of its wobbly bits, male stripping should never be taken too seriously and the film freely subscribes to that. As a result, in spite of the moments of up-front eroticism and puerile humour it is a strangely sweet and innocent film. It is about each of the strippers finding themselves; reaffirming that they, as people, are more than mere handsome slabs of greasy meat; and that their jobs as "male entertainers" they can offer more than just their naked bodies. In the questionable age of Fifty Shades of Grey, these dudes just want to make women of every shape, size, colour, age and taste feel loved and attended to - which is no bad thing. Mike, Ken, Tarzan, Tito and even Big Dick Richie are just fun-loving guys with open hearts and, coincidentally, open trousers. It cleverly ends up trying to be a film about the enjoyment of womens' sexuality, rather than the sexual appetites of the men on stage.
As before, Tatum sizzles on the dance-floor, with one spectacularly acrobatic scene impressive to the point of being virtually unbelievable for an actor of his celebrity. It is in these few choreographed moments that the film goes beyond itself to become surprising, unusual and clearly requiring of decent insurance coverage for the women that get grinded (ground?) on (like beef) and tossed around (like salad) to within an inch of their lives (but what a way to go, hey?). This more than makes up for the few scenes of extended chatter that are slow and purposeless; merely used to fill the time between the more salacious scenes. Andie MacDowell (Four Weddings and a Funeral) makes a fun appearance as a Southern divorcée, and Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games) is another brief but enjoyable addition to the cast. Furthermore, there are actual black people in this film (gasp!), and besides adding male strippers and rapper/singer Childish Gambino to the mix, Jada Pinkett Smith (The Matrix Reloaded) is particularly welcome as the owner of a classy private member's club.
So go. Although it is more like a straight-up strip show than the original (so with a more obvious intended demographic) and the story is of little substance, there is still plenty for open-minded folk of any sex or sexuality to be entertained and amused by. Hell, at worst, the straight guys out there might just learn a thing or two....
So go. Although it is more like a straight-up strip show than the original (so with a more obvious intended demographic) and the story is of little substance, there is still plenty for open-minded folk of any sex or sexuality to be entertained and amused by. Hell, at worst, the straight guys out there might just learn a thing or two....
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