It’s been a while, but I’m back with another movie review and this time I got the chance to see the highly anticipated Channing Tatum tour-de-force known as Magic Mike. Some of you are probably thinking that I drew the short straw in the office pool in getting this movie. And that may in fact be the case…usually because I’m never at the Geek for E Offices so I never know what straw I’ve drawn. So I took my lumps like a man and said that I will review Magic Mike. Why? Because I have a girlfriend that has been wanting to see Magic Mike since we saw the first preview on TV six weeks ago. And being the good boyfriend that I am, I’ve asked my girlfriend to attend the screening with me and help with the review.

This had to be the first screening I’ve attended in a long time where they waited till every seat that could be filled was filled. No woman was left behind in getting to witness Magic Mike. The anticipation to see this movie is huge (no pun intended) and to my girlfriend this was the movie of the summer…she was as excited to see Magic Mike as I was when we went to see The Avengers.

Sit back, relax, please don’t throw dollar bills at the review, and get ready to read The Good, The Bad, and The Girlfriend’s Take about Magic Mike!

Directed by Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s 11, 12, 13) and written by Reid Carolin, Magic Mike is not just another “stripper” movie showing the flesh and glam of Male strippers. It actually shows the oposite…it shows what happens behind the scenes to the guys that are in the business while telling a compelling story. Yes there are plenty of scenes of the guys showing their abs and doing exotic dances to the women in the club and yes, this in turn does have an affect on the women of the movie audience as there were a few times where the crowd whistled at the screen and were enjoying the show that was being put on in front of them.

So the funny thing about Magic Mike is that the story was pretty good. I felt that there were a lot of similarities to  Boogie Nights in the way the movie flowed. From pacing to the character development it really had a sense of deja’ vu. So let’s get to the nitty gritty of the Magic Mike experience!

The Good!

• I know that I’ll get flack here but I liked Channing Tatum as ‘Magic’ Mike. I know that some say he is a one note actor and maybe his real life stripper background played into the casting choice but he really pulled off the role. He did a great job in portraying a man that had multiple jobs, one of which was a male stripper, to be able to get ahead and start his own small business.
• Matthew McConaughey as the sleazy and slick club owner Dallas. He had his product and knew how to market it. For some reason it really felt like Matty-boy may not have been having to stretch his acting chops for this role.
• Kevin Nash trying to dance. For a man that spent years in the WWE and had to learn how to move around the ring, you’d think he would be able to dance a bit better. I spent most of the time watching his character, whom was called Tarzan due to the Tarzan strip tease he does, dance. Not going to lie here…the man has moves like Jagger…Jagger that fell off the stage and sprained his ankle type of Jagger but still, not bad.
• Olivia Munn. I was never a big fan of hers. However her performance as Joanna added some depth to Mike’s life. In fact I felt that Munn and Tatum had a lot of good onscreen chemistry that was missing when we eventually get introduced to Cody Horn’s character Brooke. Her character goes through a story arc of being a booty call to Mike to eventually wanting more and finally getting a life of her own away from the strip club fandom world.
• The rest of the crew – Matt Bomer as Ken, Joe Manganiello as ‘Big Dick’ Richie, Adam Rodriguez as Tito, and comedian Gabriel Iglesias as the house DJ, Tobias. They may not have been featured players, which is a shock considering Bomer and Manganiello are featured in the advertising as key players, but they really helped flesh out the plot. They also added some comedy into the dark drama that became evident by the later half of the movie.
• And lastly the performance of Alex Pettyfer as Adam ‘The Kid’. He had the biggest turn in story line as we are first introduced to him as a loser that can’t hold a job. He won’t interview at a place that requires him to wear a tie. He got a roofing job off of Craigslist and this is where he meets Mike who eventually introduces him to the world of Male stripping. This is where Adam learns to become self-dependent and eventually falls to the dark side of the club world.

The Bad!

• Cody Horn as Adam’s sister Brooke. She really needs to learn how to act because she can’t deliver a line. For some odd reason Brooke didn’t really show emotion when she spoke. SHE SPOKE REALLY LOUD!! And after a while this really got annoying. Let’s add that there was no chemistry between her and Mike let alone Adam her brother. It just didn’t feel natural with how Mike and Brooke were slowly becoming close over the short three month period that the movie takes place.
• There needed to be a bit more focus on who the movie was about. For the main character of Mike, I’d like to have seen more of him doing the construction job during the day and the Male stripping at night. It was done 30 years ago in Flashdance and it could have worked now for Mike as a way to flesh (again, pardon the pun) out the character and show why he is doing what he’s doing. The same could be said about Brooke and Adam’s relationship. She’s the more responsible one with a steady job and the apartment that both are living in. Adam is the slacker that has no goal in life and and falls into the world of Male stripping and it’s his eyes that the audience follows the movie through.

And now for the ladies in the Geek for E audience…I present to you my girlfriend Erin and her addition to the review…The Girlfriend’s Take!

• Channing Tatum and all of his glory! His chiseled abs, his nice ass, and his amazing dance moves. Momma like! Wish I had dollar bills to stick on Mike!
• The stripping scenes were amazing. Finally some eye-candy for the ladies to enjoy. Lots of abs and butts for everyone to drool over.
• There were just enough stripping scenes to leave you almost wanting more, but satisfied.

Overall Magic Mike is a pretty decent movie. Rated R for the obvious reasons – adult content, language, drugs, and nudity – and has a run time of 1-hour 50-minutes, I give Magic Mike 3 out of 5 stars.