Male Strippers and “Magic Mike”

“Magic Mike” R

Release Date: 29 June 2012

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Running Time: 110 min

Grade: C+

Channing Tatum plays Magic Mike, a male stripper who recruits a kid named Adam, played by Alex Pettyfer, to join the club he works at, which is owned by Matthew McConaughey. Things go sour once Pettyfer gets involved with drugs, but prior to the fiasco the audience gets to see plenty of stripping and a naked Olivia Munn. In a nutshell, this is a contemporary, tamer, and lamer version of the male porn star film-bio Boogie Nights, which I coincidentally saw 3 days before seeing this film.

If you’re a girl who wants to see a lot of men half naked, this is a film for you. If you’re looking for some decent acting by Channing Tatum or breakout performances from nobodies like Alex Pettyfer, then this movie will fulfill your desires. The film has a nice beach-movie feel thanks to Soderbergh’s direction and the Florida location. The camera angles are rarely wide shots, instead they remain relatively restricted and personal giving at times beautiful, real and enjoyable scenes. There are some great shots of the beach/Tampa, FL and there is an interesting scene of Alex Pettyfer all drugged out in the back of a truck. But if you are looking for a witty, sharp script and chemistry between the opposite sexes, then you should look somewhere else. What truly got under my skin were the acting skills of Cody Horn, who plays Pettyfer’s big sister and who annoyed the shit out of me.

She was horrible. At the beginning, before Channing Tatum becomes infatuated with Horn, the movie is actually interesting and funny. Matthew McConaughey’s overly egotistical character can be annoying at times but he sure is entertaining. Alex Pettyfer delivers decent monologues and surprisingly shows talent as an actor as well as a male stripper. But once Tatum involves himself with Horn, the audience has to deal with Horn and her poorly delivered lines and facial expressions. I can’t remember if the script was horrible or if her bad acting ruined it for me. Half of the time, it seemed like she was trying to hold back a smile while she said things that were supposed to be far from funny. Her fake laugh was so bad I wanted to leave the theater.

I see promise in Tatum and Pettyfer, and the directing was good. But boy did Cody Horn ruin what could have potentially been a B movie.

Gabri

Trailer: