Magic Mike (2012)

<<

Gearing Up

>>

Back in the summer of 2012, I met someone, we started dating, and long story short, we made a deal: I would see 'Magic Mike' with her as long as she would see 'Spring Breakers' with me. The agreement was made, but what I never expected was to actually enjoy 'Magic Mike,' and walk out of (and it's still the only film I've ever done this with) 'Spring Breakers,' which I personally thought was horrible, and never did end up giving a second chance to. But there was something about 'Magic Mike' that I actually enjoyed.

This is one of my life's most interesting theatrical experiences, as I was one of about four guys in an otherwise packed theatre of women. One of the guys even approached me and shook my hand for having the "guts" to be there. I mean, watching 'Magic Mike' may not have been on my list of things to do, but I was shocked at how many unwilling souls were out there. I was there on a date, so I was comfortable, plus we had our trade-off in case the movie sucked. But I was actually pleasantly surprised by the film's story.

I think when most of the "unwilling" think about this movie, they think of a bunch of gyrating male strippers and frankly don't wanna see what they don't wanna see, and I understand that. But all of that is the distracting eye candy for the women of the audience. Some of this is also about male camaraderie, making the right (or wrong) decisions, and there's even a bit of a love story that isn't entirely in your face but casual. This is a movie that combines the slice-of-life subgenre with a cautionary tale. Altogether, it's actually pretty simple.

Mike Lane (Channing Tatum) meets a college dropout named Adam (Alex Pettyfer) at a construction site while working an odd job and soon takes him under his wing. Adam needs a job, so Mike suggests he follow him to the Xquisite Strip Club, where he strips and asks Dallas (Matthew McConaughey) for a job. Meanwhile, Mike has an on-and-off relationship with a girl named Joanna (Olivia Munn), seemingly often engaging in threesomes with another girl, and wishes to start his own business, building furniture out of odd items.

However, things get a bit complicated for Mike upon meeting Brooke (Cody Horne), Adam's sister, to whom he's slowly becoming attracted despite his relationship with Joanna. Mike promises Joanna that he'll take good care of her 19-year-old brother upon finding out what Mike has him doing. Still, his care is often put to the test as Adam starts getting more and more out of control; on top of all that, Dallas wants to move to Miami and begin an empire of male strip clubs, which puts a damper on what Mike really wants to do with himself.

If I were to really compare this to another movie, I'd put it with something like 'Boogie Nights.' Not only does it have the sexuality aspect to it, but plot-wise, it involves someone getting swept up in the respective industry. However, 'Boogie Nights' is much better. I do have the odd criticism about this. The movie ends with not a whole lot entirely resolved, and it almost feels like a forced ending just because they don't know what else to do. Still, though, the film comes across as a pleasant surprise as long as you can deal with seeing a handful of male strippers doing their thing.

To be clear, however, I'm not gonna sit here and try to urge people to see it who don't want to see it. The film is what it is, and I don't blame anyone for not wanting to go there. But I will say that it's not quite as bad as one might think, and it's not just about the male bodies dancing around (although full credit to Tatum for his moves) so much as a guy trying to find his way in life, and another guy who provides a cautionary tale about the party lifestyle. It's not the best story out there, but it was better than I imagined.

3/5

---