MAGIC MIKE XXL (4 out of 10) Directed by Gregory Jacobs; Written by Reid Carolin; Starring Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer, Adam Rodriguez, Kevin Nash, Gabriel Iglesias, Amber Heard, Jada Pinkett Smith, Donald Glover, Andie MacDowell, Elizabeth Banks; Rated R for “strong sexual content, pervasive language, some nudity and drug use”; Running time 115 min; In wide release July 1, 2015.
In 2012’s “Magic Mike,” Steven Soderbergh brought a strange artistry and pathos to a story of male strippers in Tampa, including the eponymous Mike (Channing Tatum). And for comparison, in the first minute of the movie you see both a completely nude Tatum (at least from the back) and a topless Olivia Munn. In this newest outing, Tatum doesn’t even remove his shirt for the first 56 minutes.
So, for those hoping for some cheap thrills and hot boys (something the first movie also had in spades). . . you are going to be sorely disappointed. Yes, a movie about male strippers only has 4 dance scenes the entire film and somehow expects us to care about a ridiculous road trip plot in between.
Said “plot” involves Mike, who has been out of the business since he left at the end of the first movie, rejoining the remaining Kings of Tampa (sans Matthew McConaughey and Alex Pettyfer) as they go on “one last ride” to an annual stripper convention in Myrtle Beach. On their way they do drugs, go to beach parties, get in car accidents, stop by an exclusive house party club madamed by Jada Pinkett Smith, get seduced by some older Southern gentle ladies, and. . .why even bother? The plot makes no sense, and all the time spent on it is time not spent on what (one assumes) most people came to see in this movie.
Whomever this movie was made for, it doesn’t seem to deliver on what it is they might want. And for a movie whose plot and theme seems to be based around following your passion and finding that one thing about yourself that makes you unique and special, this movie sure doesn’t know what it is or what it’s doing or where it’s going.
If you want to see “Magic Mike XXL,” just watch the original “Magic Mike.” It’s got everything this movie does, plus Soderbergh directed the hell out of that movie. You could teach a graduate level film class on camera angles and how he shot the “Pony” scene alone. This just goes through the motions and expects a bored audience will lap it up.
4/10
You can also listen to Andy and Adam talk about this movie and more in their new podcast, Bored as Hell.Check out the newest episode featuring guest host Brooke Heym of Two Feminist Moms, “Bros Before Robos.”