Magic Mike Review
By Karen Dahlstrom
Ladies' Night
"Magic Mike", written by Reid Carolin and directed by Steven Soderbergh, is a tale of the pursuit of the American Dream, set against the world of male strippers. Channing Tatum ("
Dear John") stars as the titular character - a hard-working entrepreneurial type, just trying to get his piece of the pie. To fund his dream of opening a custom furniture shop, Mike has a lot of jobs and side businesses. His most successful job just happens to be as the star dancer at Xquisite, an all male revue in Tampa, Florida.
Mike's hard work seems to be paying off. He's getting closer to his dream with the promise of equity in the club's new location in Miami. But all will change (as it must) when Mike meets Adam (Alex Pettyfer), a rudderless 19-year old looking for a job.
He takes Adam under his wing and shows him there's easy money to be made in stripping. Adam's hesitant at first, but soon gets a taste for it when he's pushed out on stage. The club's owner, Dallas (Matthew McConaughey), sees Adam's potential and signs up "The Kid". This doesn't exactly sit well with Adam's sister, Brooke (Cody Horn), who is suspicious of Adam's new thong wardrobe and his new best friend.
Mike promises her to look out for him, but it's hard to keep a young guy in line when there's plenty of booze, pills and women to be had. As Adam dives headlong into the world of Xquisite, Mike starts reevaluating his life plan. And here, folks, is where the party ends. While Soderbergh has a blast filling the screen with campy, clever scenes from the club, the drama falls a bit flat.
One scene perfectly sums up the experience of watching "Magic Mike". It's all on Brooke's face as she watches Mike's solo at Xquisite: curiosity, embarrassment, fascination, titillation, then "what am I doing here?". Channing Tatum, with his easy charm and impressive dance skills is a delight to watch, as are the on and off-stage antics. But the ensuing drama feels contrived and stale - not even a wry bit of commentary on the banking system can make it feel fresh. Ironically, the drama feels gratuitous, not the stripping.
Fortunately, most of the film takes place in the club, and there's no shortage of eye candy. Some of the best scenes come courtesy of McConaughey as Dallas - a role that seems to fit him like his skin-tight leather pants. As the club's owner/impresario (and a former stripper himself), Dallas loves his job, but he also takes his business very seriously. His unctuous intensity makes for some hilarious moments, as when he schools The Kid on the art of the bump and grind.
And boy oh boy, is there bumping and grinding. Be prepared to get an eyeful, and it's all in good fun. Unlike other "stripper" films, you don't get the sense that any of the dancers are being taken advantage of, or are preyed upon. They're having as much fun as their audience of housewives, brides-to-be and sorority girls. Only someone in the biz could say whether or not that rings true, but I suppose it's part of the fantasy. And as Dallas says, it's all about the fantasy.
