Magic Mike – Review

Alright ladies, leave your men at home and get ready for a girl’s night out to go see Magic Mike on the big screen! Magic Mike is a film about the male stripping industry that stars Channing Tatum and is inspired by the experiences he had working as a male stripper in Tampa, Florida when he was 18 years old.
Tatum plays “Magic Mike” a 30-year-old male stripper that is the main attraction at Club Xquisite in Tampa, Florida. Matthew McConaughey plays the role of Dallas, the owner and manager of the club. Dallas discovered “Magic Mike” and introduced him to the male stripping industry a few years earlier. Dallas is trying to save enough money to move the club to Miami, Florida, to open an even bigger and better male strip club. Mike is working multiple jobs to save money to open up his own business of designing and building custom furniture to get out of the stripping industry. Mike meets a 19 year old co-worker, Adam, who he calls The Kid (Alex Pettfer) at one of his jobs. The Kid is down on his luck, so Mike introduces him to Dallas and all of the male strippers at Club Xquisite that include: Ken (Matt Bomer), Big Dick Richie (Joe Manganiello), Tarzan (Kevin Nash), and Tito (Adam Rodriguez). Mike takes the Kid under his wing and shows him the ropes and all of the perks of being a male stripper that include: lots of partying, women, sex, and money.

The first half of the movie introduces viewers to the male strippers of Club Xquisite. The cast of male actors in this movie do a great job of embracing their male stripper roles. For the most part, they are all shirtless and wearing thongs while dancing, pelvis thrusting, and air humping. Women definitely won’t be disappointed by this part of the movie. I was surprised to find the beginning of the movie almost as humorous as it was sexy; however, I think that was the intention. The director of this movie played up every cliché associated with male strippers including a dance scene to “It’s raining men” by the Weather Girls. I saw this movie with one of my girlfriends at a theater that was mainly occupied by women. A majority of the women in the theater, including myself, were cracking up and laughing throughout the beginning of the movie. How can you not laugh at big, muscular, gorgeous men pretending to be firefighters or cowboys while pelvic thrusting and air humping in a thong and kneepads???? Don’t get me wrong; Mathew McConaughey is more chiseled, muscular, gorgeous, and sexy in this movie than I have ever seen him. I think this is the best we will ever see him look on the big screen. He was perfection! He was shirtless and in low-rise black leather pants that showed his amazing abs and his “V” most of the movie. For those of you not familiar with a man’s “V,” I’m referring to the defined V-shape on the lower stomach of muscular men that points and leads to their land down under! Channing Tatum is also very easy on the eyes. He cannot act at all, but he can definitely dance. My favorite parts of the movie for him were the non-speaking parts where he just stripped and danced. That was where he shined the most! It is very obvious that he remembers all of his moves from his experiences as a stripper. The rest of the actors in this movie are also gorgeous and a pleasure to watch on the big screen. They were not the best actors either, but they were very nice to look at.

After showing viewers about the male stripping industry, the movie tries to develop the plot of Magic Mike. This is about the halfway point for the movie, and when it starts to go downhill. The film starts focusing on Mike trying to get out of the stripping industry and wanting more for his life, and the Kid getting in way over his head with drugs, partying, and the lifestyle that goes along with being a male stripper. In my opinion, the film was very predictable and boring at this point. The movie goes from being funny, sexy, and entertaining to serious, weird, and dramatic. The second half of the movie was a disappointment, and the ending was the biggest disappointment of all. Thus, I am going to have to give this movie two strips of bacon!
I do not think that most men would find this film enjoyable. I think they would find the beginning of this movie torturous to watch and would opt for a romantic chick flick instead. There were a few guys in the theater when I saw this movie. I overheard a few of them say that the film wasn’t as bad as they thought it would be, and that they did find it humorous in the beginning. I’m not sure if they genuinely meant that, or if they were just saying that to appease the women they were there with.

Bottom line, I think all women should go see this movie. I know I’m only giving it two strips of bacon, but the first half of this movie is worth the money for the movie ticket to see it on the big screen especially if you are a Matthew McConaughey or Channing Tatum fan! Don’t wait to watch this movie on your 40-inch television screen at home! Schedule a girl’s night this weekend, get some cocktails, and go see this movie and the sexy bodies of the men in this movie on a 73 foot big screen at the theater! Also, I suggest that after the first half of the movie is over, either bring an i-pod and play some good music and just enjoy how gorgeous the men in this movie are on the big screen or just leave and enjoy the rest of your girl’s night out, because you will probably be just as disappointed as I was with the second half of this movie!