Magic Mike (FILM REVIEW)
Magic Mike
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Channing Tatum Stars as Reluctant Stripper in Riveting,
Character-Driven Drama
Channing Tatum held a number of odd jobs before he became a matinee idol, including a brief stint as a male stripper which
he might not exactly be proudest of. But rather than deny that embarrassing detour
on the road to superstardom, the hunky heartthrob has opted to embrace that
chapter of his checkered past by making a semi-autobiographical movie recounting
his daring foray into the adult entertainment industry.
The upshot of that effort is Magic
Mike, a raw and revealing character-driven drama
directed by Oscar-winner Steven Soderbergh (for Traffic) who previously
collaborated with Channing on the action-thriller Haywire. The two also just finished
shooting A Bitter Pill, a crime caper set for an early 2013 release.
Here,
Channing stars as Mike Martingano, an erotic dancer who goes by the stage name Magic
Mike when titillating the ladies at a seedy, Tampa dive called Xquisite. The place is managed
by Dallas (Matthew McConaughey), a silky smooth operator who has promised his
most popular performer 10% equity to follow him when he relocates the club to Miami.
Trouble
is Mike isn’t getting any younger, and his big plans for himself definitely
don’t include stripping into his 40s like Dallas and the other members of the aging
revue: Tito (Adam Rodriguez), Tarzan (Kevin Nash), Ken (Matt Bomer) and Big
[bleep] Richie (Joe Manganiello). Instead, he dreams of saving up enough seed
money to set himself up as a custom furniture designer, and maybe settling down
with Brooke (Cody Horn), the sister of the 19 year-old (Alex Pettyfer) he’s just
recruited for Dallas.
Unfolding
over the course of a long, hot Florida
summer, Magic Mike is such an unpredictable and palpably raw-edged adventure that
you soon forget that you’re even watching actors performing on sets. In that
regard, the picture is rather reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino’s similarly
super-realistic Jackie Brown (1997), a masterpiece which also featured a flawed
protagonist ensnared in a sticky predicament at an unpretentious oceanfront setting.
Will
Mike summon up the requisite resolve to extricate himself from the stripping
game and thereby save his soul? Or will a financial setback cause him to rationalize
moving to Miami,
leaving his hopes and girlfriend behind for the sake of easy money?
A
compelling character study not to be missed, if only to witness the gutsy,
career performance delivered by the ever-improving Channing Tatum.
Excellent
(4 stars)
Rated R for profanity, drug use, brief graphic nudity and pervasive
sexuality.
Running time: 110 minutes
Distributor: Warner
Brothers
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