“We’re male entertainers now; not strippers”
say the boys in Kings of Tampa, getting ready for their last blow-out
performance at the Strippers Convention on Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. Magic Mike (Tatum) had left the group
to fulfill his dream of making furniture, but when he gets a message out of the
blue that causes him great concern, he hooks up with them and is easily
persuaded to rejoin them on this last excursion. It takes them a while to get there with some mishaps along
the way, but various women from their past—Rome (Jada Pinkett-Smith), Zoe
(Amber Heard), and Paris (Elizabeth Banks)—give them a generous hand, and they
make it to their destination with a new show and emcee.
The aims of this sexy romp of a movie are
clearly to entertain—as is claimed.
The men in the Kings of Tampa, as well as those in Rome’s establishment
where they stopped along the way, deliver amazing performances in song and
dance that even women in the theater screening audience could squeal for
heartily. But the writer (Reid
Carolin) and director (Gregory Jacobs) add a little more substance to the brew
in empathic looks at male bonding and women’s need for a listening ear and
romance.
In males, there seems to be a bottom line of
trust—although it is repeatedly tested—along with the competition and
territorial struggles. In this
group, there is a bit of difficulty reintegrating Mike into the group after
three years and a certain amount of resentment about his finding his niche,
while most of the others are in some kind of limbo. But no matter what the conflict, how much hurt is dished
out, or how much they argue, the bottom line of love and respect always brings
them back together.
I must confess I have never been in a male
strip club and did not see the original Magic
Mike; but I was impressed in seeing the performances in Magic Mike XXL show understanding for
the things many women are missing in their relationships with men. Obviously, the focus is on the men and
their prowess, but the women they are attending to, however briefly, are not
just passive props. First of all,
they ask the women directly what they want. Then they include them in their act in such a way the two
become a unit; it’s not always easy to tell—if you didn’t already know—who is
doing what. (We’ll ignore for the
moment that these performances are primarily to show off the men’s acrobatics
and gymnastics.) But there is the illusion of shared control.
Steven Soderbergh, the director of the previous
Magic Mike film, takes the role of
cinematographer this time, which is an interesting transition, and he is very
good. He and the director of XXL, Gregory Jacobs, have collaborated
on many productions, so the change is seamless. Reid Carolin, the writer for both productions inserted new
plot turns and the choreography was turned up for XXL. In an interview,
Joe Manganiello credits two of the actors, Alison Faulk and Teresa Espinosa,
who were in both productions, with dance move assistance.
It’s expected that Magic Mike XXL will be just
as popular as its predecessor, so there is lots of excitement around the
opening of this film.
Woo woo!
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