Movie Review: Magic Mike

Story: I was super excited to turn 17, so that I could start going to see rated R movies. When I saw the previews for Magic Mike, I knew that it had to be the first one I bought my own ticket to see. I was all prepared to show my I.D. and prove that I was 17, right? They didn’t even question me about it. I was severely disappointed, and that was the beginning of my Magic Mike experience.

Magic Mike is set in Tampa, where Adam (played by Alex Pettyfer) is a 19 year old struggling to find a job that he can stick out. By chance he meets Mike, a roof tiller that owns many side business’. Adam meets Mike that night by chance, and they go into a club, where Mike tests Adam’s ability to attract women. As Mike expected, the ladies love Adam, and he lures them to the strip club Xquisite, where Mike is the star stripper. That night, Adam has to step in and replace one of the dancers who is unable to perform, and so begins Adam’s journey to becoming a successful stripper (who quickly picks up the moniker ‘The Kid’).

This movie… I’m not sure how to properly judge it. You go into the movie expecting to see a bunch of ripped, sexy guys dancing around nearly naked on stage. Yes, you get plenty of that (which I will not complain about), but you also get a really dry plot. I honestly didn’t enjoy a lot of the movie where the guys weren’t dancing onstage. The choreography for the men was better than most of the script for the film, which is a shame. The plot was dry, and I hated both Adam and his sister, Brooke (played by Cody Horn). Both of these actors could’ve been replaces easily, in my opinion, because neither played the parts very well. Cody’s portrayal of Brooke felt very forced, and every time she laughed I wanted to punch her in the face.
Now, the rest of the gang… Oh, I liked them.
Matthew McConaughey as the ring leader, Dallas, was hilarious. One of my favorite scenes was when Dallas was teaching the Kid to take his clothes off for the crowd, Dallas wearing short –shorts and a little yellow tank top. McConaugheywas cast perfectly in this film, as was Channing Tatum as Mike. I really felt bad for all the times Mike had to bail the Kid out of trouble, and I was rooting for him the entire film. The rest of the ensemble (including Matt Bomer, TrueBlood’s Joe Manganiello, and Kevin Nash) were entertaining enough to make the film fun to watch.

I left the theatre very disappointed with the plot of the film. If you are honestly just going to see the film to see Channing Tatum and friends dancing with hardly anything on, then by all means, go and see it! You won’t be disappointed by the abs you see on those boys! Really though, those are the only scenes worth watching in the movie.
I would suggest seeing this film for a girls night out, because there’s really no other occasion to see it for. The film was poorly cast for the most part, with a poorly written plot. It’s only appealing element is the hot strippers (which face it, that’s the only reason this film is being watched).