Movie Review: Magic Mike

I’m sure everyone has heard, or has seen trailers for the film Magic Mike. I’m also confident that everyone has calculated an opinion based on what they’ve seen or heard. For those of you still in the dark (though I don’t know how that is possible), let me break it down for you – Magic Mike is basically Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey performing nearly naked on stage as exotic male dancers. If that’s not a draw for most, let me tell you that it was actually promising and quite humorous. But I say “was” because the promise that it had only existed in the first thirty minutes of the film. The other 80 minutes of the movie takes a dark turn into the partying, drugs, and orgies which we are led to believe are commonplace in the male stripper world before the movie abruptly ends. It’s almost as if the filmmakers were going for a tidy wrap-up similar to those in beloved 1980s movies, and when that failed, they just ended it.

As far as the acting, Channing Tatum sure looked right at home on stage dancing as his alter ego Magic Mike. There are a few scenes that will even make the not-so-shyest of viewers blush. Needless to say, his performance was indeed believable. His character, Mike, takes on a protégé named Adam (played by Alex Pettyfer) who is basically a 19-year old kid lured into the exotic dancing world by the promise money and sex. (Sound cliché, well you’re right, it is.) Both Mike and Alex work for the proverbial sleazy club owner and manager Dallas, played by McConaughey, who gives a downright creepy albeit predictable performance.

Magic Mike, as is true of many films, is about expectations. Ladies, if you are expecting a virtual bachelorette party on the big screen, then this movie delivers. Perfect for a girls’ night out. However, if you are expecting a well-crafted and thought-provoking story with clever dialog characteristic of a Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Erin Brockovich) film, then you will be surly disappointed. I admire Soderbergh for trying something different, but it could have been the kind of different that was good. I almost think Magic Mike would’ve been better as some sort of stripper musical focusing on the dancing alone and not even trying to have a plot. After all, the dancing (aka stripping) was the best part. I wish I would’ve had lower expectations; perhaps I would’ve enjoyed the film more.