Film Review: Magic Mike

Magic Mike. Rated MA 15+ (strong nudity, sexual references, coarse language and drug use). 110 minutes. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Screenplay by Reid Carolin.        

Verdict: A beefcake showcase that slowly reveals itself to be far more than it might, at first glance, seem.

While it’s certainly no The Full Monty (1997), in which an unlikely group of down-and-outers fight poverty with their striptease act, Magic Mike has a good deal going for it. At first glance, it’s an autobiographically-inspired showcase for the skills of the indefatigable Channing Tatum (21 Jump Street, Dear John, The Vow), who started his career as a stripper. But with Carolin’s finely-balanced screenplay and the watchful and carefully-considered eye of Soderbergh (Contagion, Traffic, Erin Brockovich), Magic Mike gradually begins to delve into the dark and dangerously addictive side of ‘showbusiness’ – self-delusion, narcissism and a rampantly destructive drug-fuelled subculture.

Mike Lane (Tatum) is an entrepreneur who dreams of launching his hand-made furniture business. In the meantime, he works several jobs including roofing contractor, car detailer and stripper – and it is when he is on a roofing job that he meets Adam (Alex Pettyfer), a homeless young drifter who has landed on his sister Brooke’s (Cody Horn) couch. Realising that Adam needs a break, Mike introduces him to the leader of the strippers’ troupe Dallas (Matthew McConaughey) as an ideal candidate. Like a duck to water, Adam begins his career as a stripper – only to find the allure of plenty of cash and good times to be his undoing.

Underneath all the fantastically staged, well-oiled bump and grind are some fine performances – particularly from Horn as Adam’s disenchanted sister, who sets a new benchmark for scorn and indifference. McConaughey is hilarious as the vain dreamer Dallas, and Pettyfer easily coasts through as the wide-eyed Adam who simply cannot believe his luck. But it’s hats off to Tatum, who not only dances up a storm, but who also brings an undeniable authority to his modestly endearing performance.

Pictured: Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey and Channing Tatum in Magic Mike.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.