I like male strippers just as much as the next guy. If the voting were based purely on male eye candy and Florida scenery, this movie would get 9 out of 10. Just the scene where Pettyfer shakes his booty in front of the mirror for the first time was worth the price of admission. The sandbar party was also cool. I want to do that.
But I mean, c'mon, a film about male strippers without any erections? All I saw was a fleeting image of one in a pump. Did you even catch that? I understand that in America it's more acceptable to show an exploding head than an erection, but surely this movie would have been an exception. You simply can't portray the full impact of male stripping on an audience without the hard-ons. It's an integral and essential aspect. And the foursome scene -- does this still need to be implied? It's a movie about easy sexuality without any easy sexuality. This movie raises a number of issues for me about artistic honesty and freedom of expression.
I'm not sure we got a realistic portrayal of the psychology and lifestyle of the strippers, even though clearly this was expressly the movie's aim. These fellas were portrayed as all-American boys just having fun. It's not like that, I'm sure. Where were the hours in the gym, the narcissism, the pharmaceutical aids, the whoring, the brutal attrition rate, the desperate search for money, the Darwinian fight for the good clients, the social disapproval. It was just blue-collar heroes, men dancing and recreational drugs, from what I could see. Was this movie an adolescent fantasy about easy sex, easy money and easy work?
This movie shows us this world and these people, but was visibly searching for a story to tell. Adam does not really face much of a trial. The relationship between the sister and Mike was telegraphed from the very beginning.
There were other things going on in the movie, but I forget what they were.
Magic Mike
2012
Action / Comedy / Drama / Music
Magic Mike
2012
Action / Comedy / Drama / Music
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU 2160p.WEB.x265Movie Reviews
C'mon
Great buns, shame about the script
So many elements that could have made this a truly original movie. Instead it's confusing, meandering and ultimately pointless. Alex Pettyfer, the innocent entering the world of male strippers has a good face a great body but lacks life, yes, that's it, he's kind of lifeless. Channing Tatum, whose story, apparently, this is, has a body that seems to have been shaped by a genius, but a face that looks slightly unfinished. I didn't get his character at all. As an actor Channing tries far too hard. Matthew McConaughey is a hoot, Great chest and he seems to be relishing the spotlight. So, all in all, entertaining and little, very little else.
Not the way real dancers are.
I was a stripper. Yes, I was. I was fairly good too.
This film however doesn't capture the reality behind the stage, on-stage or even the crowd.
The reality is that the male dancers - or even female dancers aren't all friends...they are greedy, selfish ego tripping characters who look forward only to the dollars. They fight backstage, they get drunk back stage and they do serious amounts of coke back stage.
Most male dancers are also gay. I am not and for that reason, the few men that are not gay will be reading "picture books" behind the curtain to ensure that they are "up" to the challenge when they are on stage.
The gay men will be taking care of each other respectively before they go on stage.
Most female crowds are mostly fat, overweight women who are nearing 50 and are there to get totally drunk. Male dancers will go to the table for them and pull everything off, but will not take them on-stage and perform nasty acts - clothed or unclothed.
Also - we didn't have groups of 5 or 6 go up on-stage and perform a routine set. With people travelling all the time and new people coming in and out, we barely knew who each other was from a daily basis.
Nobody fraternized with the bar-staff after closing...everybody was tired, stressed or too stoned to do anything. The bar-staff closed up and everybody got kicked out.
If anybody tried to do a back-flip on-stage, they would have been fired or told not to do that again...because of liability and safety and insurance reasons.
We made our money doing lap dances...not having a hundred girls throw money in our underwear on-stage.
The back room dressing areas were always slightly better than a warehouse - filled with all sorts of bar crap...regardless of the bar or location.
Anybody under the legal limit would never be allowed on-stage. There was always vice to make sure.
There was always so much tension in the dressing room...because we were competing for the same money, that more than the mere basic communication between dancers never existed.
This is a film based on the male stripper occupation, but misses out on the reality of it.
It's also over drawn for plot. So much could be edited out and would not make a difference to the story.
I was looking forward to see this, and I finally did. Wow...too long to watch a movie to see next to nothing of interest.