Stars: Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey, Cody Horn
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Oscar History: None
Snap Judgment Rating: 5/5 stars
There are only a few movies that would get me to the theater on opening night (I usually wait for the fanboys to clear out), but for obvious reason's involving amongst other things Channing Tatum's rather stunning physique, Magic Mike is one of them. Unfortunately, the film was sold out everywhere opening night so I had to settle for a late Saturday viewing. Perhaps the delayed gratification made me more anticipatory, and therefore, more forgiving, but I have to admit-this was a way better movie than I expected going into the film.
I suppose, with Soderbergh at the helm, I shouldn't have been surprised that this film didn't fall into the pitfalls of most "gimick-y" flicks, and delivered a bevy of real, human characters, but I was. I can partially blame the advertising campaign, that promised me The Lucky One but instead delivered something closer to Boogie Nights. The film, for those of you living under a rock, is about a group of male strippers from different walks of life and about how each comes to embrace or distance themselves from their questionable line of work. The film becomes a slight morality tale at points, but it never goes too far into that direction to be considered preachy.
The performances were perhaps the most surprising part. Look at that cast list-it doesn't have the...gravitas of the lineup in Soderbergh's Traffic. And yet, it works. Tatum, who has had one of those years that screams "arrived!" with hit films like The Vow and 21 Jump Street, has that charisma and chemistry with his costars that is essential to a true movie star. If he hasn't earned that title quite yet, I suspect he's on his way to deserving it, and more directors of Soderbergh's caliber are certainly taking note. His equal in the film is McConaughey, an actor of which I'm not typically a fan, but who is perfectly cast in this film. Borrowing a bit from Joel Grey's Emcee (yep, I'm going there), he has an evil mischief that he brings to the surface just enough to be menacing AND enigmatic (a tough balance), and toward the end of the film, when he chooses to indulge in his own striptease, you get the sense that this is a man who will keep going out on all cylinders until he's hit his blaze of glory.
There's so much more to discuss (the brilliant mirroring of Pettyfer's/Tatum's rise or fall, however you take it; the fact that Cody Horn can act and has a voice freakishly similar to Kristen Stewart's), but since it just came to me yesterday I'm going to let it breathe for a bit. Maybe in six months when I'm reflecting on the year's best films, I'll know whether I saw a quiet, quicker version of Paul Thomas Anderson's masterwork or was just blinded by Matthew Bomer's torso. In the meantime, I can say wholeheartedly, it's a fun and wild ride worth checking out.
What about you? Were you surprised by the depth of the film? Did you think the marketing was deceptive or right on the money? And which of the 'Cock Rocking Kings of Tampa' would you most want a lap dance from?
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