"Work all day. Work it all night." This is at the heart of Magic Mike. This comedy-drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh, and written by Reid Carolin. By day, Mike makes ends meet any way he can - handyman jobs, detailing cars or designing furniture. But nighttime is when Mike really gets to display his many talents: He's the hot headliner in an all-male revue. Mike sees potential in a 19-year-old he dubs the Kid, takes the teen under his wing and instructs him in the tricks of the trade. However, Mike learns there's a downside to the stripper lifestyle when it threatens his romance with the Kid's sister.
In early 2011, the project was announced with Channing Tatum to star and to be directed by Soderbergh. The film was inspired by Tatum's experiences as a stripper in Tampa, Florida, when he was eighteen years old. Tatum said that he wanted to capture the atmosphere and energy of his past as a stripper, but that the film is fictional, which allowed them to create their own scenarios. Tatum, who was then working with Soderbergh on Haywire (2012), brought him the idea. Carolin spent time revising the screenplay. He wrote the first draft in a month. By late September, Alex Pettyfer, Cody Horn, Matt Bomer, Olivia Munn, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer, Adam Rodriguez, and Matthew McConaughey rounded out the film's cast. The cast visited a strip club to see what this world was like and the dance routines and to get information on the backstage life. To prepare for the role, McConaughey went in a Los Angeles strip mall to get used to regular waxing. Bomer had to put on about fifteen pounds for his part. Rodriguez went through a cardio and weights training. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in late October. Filming took place in Los Angeles; Tampa, Florida; and the Gulf of Mexico. Soderbergh chose to shoot the entirety of the film with a double straw camera filter, except the interior of the club. The dance numbers were choreographed by Alison Faulk, while Christopher Peterson was in charge of the costumes design and Frankie Pine supervised the music.
The film stars Tatum, Pettyfer, Horn, Bomer, Munn, Manganiello, Bomer, Rodriguez, and McConaughey. As far as date movies go, this is effective enough, especially the scene where Tatum and the cast demonstrates how to capture attention, especially from the ladies in the audience, with or without stripping.
All style and very little substance, Magic Mike boasts eye-catching dance sequences—and benefits from an appealing performance from Tatum - but its narrative is flat-footed. Tatum shouldn't feel bad. He is a natural talent, he is fresh and engaging here, and only needs to find an agent with a natural talent for turning down scripts. There's something real in here, and it could have made it to the screen, but the people involved were too shortsighted to see it through. Virtually plotless, exceedingly thin on characterization and sociologically laughable, pic at least lives up to its title by offering an anthology of extraordinarily flashy dance numbers.
Simon says Magic Mike receives:
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