Magic Mike - Movie Review

Honestly, this was not high on my list of must-see summer films, but I kept hearing that this was actually a fully realized film and not simply a showcase for Channing Tatum to shake his tight butt (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I was also curious that the film was loosely based on Tatum’s own experience as a young stripper. The challenge was, who could I go with to see this film? Because I see so many movies, I often go alone and sometimes my husband accompanies me. The husband would be out for this one, I would not even bother to ask, but going alone? I would look sort of creepy. My daughter, who has been a Channing fan since Step Up, was definitely interested, but she’s 19 so she was going with girlfriends.

As luck would have it, her plans fell threw and we decided on a mother/daughter outing, weird as it may be. I forgot that our nearby theater is also the place for the Thursday Night Farmer’s Market, so we got stuck in a traffic jam and missed the first minute of the film. For me, this is unacceptable. I HATE missing any part of a movie. For my daughter, it was the devastation of missing the opening shot of Channing Tatum’s naked butt. Normally, I would skip the film altogether if I missed any portion of it, but who knew when I’d have another evening with my daughter.

Mike (Channing Tatum) is a construction worker by day and a stripper by night. Of course Mike doesn’t want to be a stripper, he dreams of owning his own furniture company and gyrating his hot bod is a great way to build his nest egg. Mike is also a good guy, so when he meets down on his luck Adam (Alex Pettyfer) he decides to take the kid under his wing.

The audience gets to see two sides of the stripping lifestyle. Mike is not quite tainted, however we see the compromises he's made with himself in order to justify his chosen profession. He seems shocked when Adam’s older sister doesn’t want to hang out with him. She thinks their lifestyles are too different and Mike is surprised to find out that society will judge him as a person because of his chosen profession. He also doesn't seem to realize that he's really leading Adam down a dangerous path and just because he can separate his work and personal life doesn't mean someone as inmature as Adam can.

Adam on the other hand is like a kid in a candy store. He feels he’s fallen into easy money, women and drugs and he wants it all…now! Adam’s sister Brooke, (Cody Horn) spends the entire film trying to “save” her brother, but he does not have the character and foresight of Mike, so we know it’s going to be tough.

I like that this film did not show this as a rosy career choice and even took the time to illustrate how difficult it is to break free even if you think it’s something you can do for just a little while.

So that’s the serious part and the storyline, but you came here to hear about the stripping right? Well, this film will not disappoint. Channing Tatum is such an amazing dancer that he doesn’t need to take his clothes off, but I’m not going to protest. Unlike female stripping, all the acts seem to come with a good dose of humor and fun. If you’re embarrassed to watch this, trust me, you’ll be giggling away because it’s all done in a party type of atmosphere. I heard that Matthew McConaughey was not being asked to strip for his role, but felt very comfortable by the end and was willing to go for it. Now, I know many ladies disagree with me, but I have never found McConaughey attractive. It’s funny that he plays such a swarmy character here, because he always seems that way for me. What I will say though, he’s a real team player and gave it his all with a pretty impressive striptease. If your fan, you’ll find yourself very happy.

This was a pretty good film. I did feel there were a few too many close-ups Brooke’s party-pooper face used as the viewer's moral compass, but other than that, a far better film than I thought it would be.

I’m pretty sure I’ll be renting this on DVD so my daughter can glimpse that missed Channing butt shot!