I’m already a few days late in my promised review of Magic Mike, and weeks late from the late June premiere. It’s not that I’ve ignored it, but that I’ve started writing it several times and what I wrote wasn’t working for me. Discussing the first time I saw a male stripper live (in my 20s), my thoughts on the industry (I think the concept of males stripping is more entertainingly funny than sexy), and my thoughts on Channing Tatum as an actor felt a bit too forced for a movie that’ with such a simple message: Strippers are people too.
If anyone else got more out of it, I’d love to hear it.
I wasn’t planning to see it, but I after watching the dancing in the trailers, which was good, I thought why not. It would make a fun girls’ night out. Though I thought it might be fun, I still wasn’t expecting to like it because though Channing Tatum is a good looking guy, I only knew him from the The Vow, and thought he really sucked in it. But to be fair, it may have just been that particular movie and its Nicholas Sparks-like storytelling, which I strongly dislike. (No, I’m not a fan of The Notebook)
But Mr. Sparks and The Vow aren’t the topic here, so I’ll move on.
Channing was much better than I expected and the dancing, though not as lacking in rhythm as some male strippers I’ve seen, did not
live up to my trailer expectations. The story itself was simple, people in that industry do what they do for a variety of reasons. Some for money, some because they don’t know anything else, and some because they actually like it.
Overall the acting was good, with the exception of Brooke, played by Cody Horn–she sort of reminded me of Kristen Stewart in the way her facial expressions rarely changed. My biggest disappointment was in the lack of screen time and dialogue for the supporting actors/dancers. I think that giving them just a bit more story time would’ve developed the movie’s overall message into a deeper theme and given the viewer a real look into that world.
Along with that, is the fact that since these supporting characters seemed like they were just a back drop, why wasn’t Latino actor, Adam Rodriguez part of the marketing of this movie. He seemed to have more lines than White Collar’s Matt Bomer, whom I love, and was really funny, yet isn’t really in any of the stills or marketing (Google images, you’ll see). When he appeared on screen, I turned to my friend and said, “I had no idea Adam was in this.”
Just this past week, Channing (like how I act as if we’re on a first name basis?) confirmed that there would be a sequel. Would I go watch? I’d say no, but who am I kidding. It’s a break from reality with some hot guys, and that’s entertainment!
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