MAGIC MIKE

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

              

Director Steven Soderbergh turns his independent sensibilities and attention to the world of male stripping in his latest MAGIC MIKE.  

Magic Mike, played by Channing Tatum, is a 30-year old stripper, a construction worker, a small business owner and an aspiring furniture artist.  Although Mike’s night life is spent entertaining ladies at the Xquisite Male Dance Revue, he envisions himself as a 21^st century entrepreneur.  

Mike views his evening escapades as a way of paying the bills and investing in his business dream of creating one-of-kind, vintage furniture.  This isn’t to say he doesn’t enjoy the fringe benefits.  

Enter Adam, aka The Kid as Mike has dubbed him, a co-worker Mike befriends while working construction, and eventually convinces to join the ranks at the Xquisite.  Mike not only teaches Adam a few tricks of the trade, but also guides The Kid during after hours.

                                               

Although Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey’s abs and other extremities will draw many adoring fans into the theater, Soderbergh’s examination of the industry and Tatum’s surprisingly grounded performance will leave viewers with a lasting impression.  

As Soderbergh did with this year’s HAYWIRE, he expands upon with MAGIC MIKE, delving into his performers past and current professions with a curiosity and interest rarely shown by directors as accomplished as he.  With MAGIC MIKE, Soderbergh throws all pretensions aside, and grants Tatum and the industry as a whole a level of respect rarely seen on screen.  

This isn’t to say that MAGIC MIKE doesn’t give the ladies what they are looking for, complete with McConaughey shirtless in every scene he’s in.  The film does provide a fairly reflective look at a man who is drifting through a fantasy world of women, money and instant gratification.  Mike’s life is viewed through several prisms, as an on-stage heart-throb, a working class Joe and as a player who might not be as smooth as he thinks.  

Tatum is good, utterly convincing as a stage performer, while equally empathetic as a leading man.  McConaughey also does a nice job channeling his inner David Wooderson, ala DAZED AND CONFUSED.  

Soderbergh seems completely at ease with MAGIC MIKE, delivering a completely commercial picture, while still bringing his artistic awareness to the table.  MAGIC MIKE delivers both on-stage antics and off-stage substance.

Grade: B