As we face yet another summer of brooding superheroes, it’s Magic Mike to the rescue! He’s got the civilian alter ego and the acrobatic skills to rival Spidey or Batman — but this guy does his best work when he’s taking off a silly outfit (preferably slowly, and set to the grinding beat of Ginuwine’s “Pony”).
Like the “c – – k-rockin’ Kings of Tampa,” the all-male strip revue in which Mike (Channing Tatum) is the star attraction, Steven Soderbergh’s breezy dramedy serves up something for every taste. It’s got funny and loose guy-bonding moments, a bit of romance and some really first-rate dancing, much of it by Tatum himself (whose stripper past reportedly inspired the screenplay).
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It’s also terrific-looking, as you’d expect from Soderbergh, who gives the Florida exterior shots in “Magic Mike” a bleached-out Polaroid vibe and finds the perfect middle ground between glam and sleazy for his depiction of small-city nightclubs.
Oh, were you interested in something else? Greased-up abs and tearaway pants, perhaps? There’s an eye-popping amount of burlesque beefcake on display here, all done with raunchy good humor. It’s like “The Full Monty” except with guys you actually want to see take it all off, or “Boogie Nights” minus the angst and the body count.
Well, maybe a little angst. The affable Mike holds down various jobs but, at 30, is dreaming of starting his own business, crafting found-object furniture (which doesn’t appear to be catching on in Tampa; too bad he’s not based in Brooklyn). In the meantime, he works days in construction, where he meets Adam (Alex Pettyfer), a 19-year-old screw-up whose ex-jock bod makes him ripe for recruitment to Mike’s more lucrative gig, exotic dancing at Club Xquisite.
“This is the Kid,” Mike dubs Adam when introducing him to the stripper crew, whose pre-show prep routine is charmingly mundane. Big Dick Richie (Joe Manganiello) sits at the sewing machine putting the finishing touches on a gold thong; a behemoth named Tarzan (Kevin Nash) asks if his legs look ashy.
But the real draw — almost outshining Tatum’s high-voltage appeal — is Matthew McConaughey, in what might be his best role yet as preening club owner Dallas. Borrowing a catchphrase from his iconic “Dazed and Confused” character — “all right, all right, all riiiiight!” — and more chiseled and leathery than ever, he schools the Kid (“Who’s got the c – – k? You do! They don’t!” ) and schemes about upgrading to big-time Miami.
The Kid’s new lifestyle doesn’t sit well with his protective older sister and roommate, Brooke (a naturalistic Cody Horn). But even she can’t totally resist goofy Mike — Tatum is nothing if not disarming — who assures her he’ll look after her little brother, and makes her jaw drop, just slightly, when she catches one of his routines at the club.
Because watching this guy dance is undeniably thrilling, even to a cynic like Brooke, and Soderbergh’s camera adores him. Bathing his star in violet lights and sexy lens flares, the director showcases the moves that, obviously, would have served Tatum well as a stripper, and brought him mainstream fame in 2006’s street-dancing movie “Step Up.” (If you ask me, there should be a clause in his contract that stipulates he will bust out these skills in every movie. Tell me “G.I. Joe” or “Dear John” wouldn’t have been much improved.)
But Tatum’s co-stars deserve a lot of credit, too, for being incredibly game — and limber — for the extensively choreographed, “Flashdance”-reminiscent dance numbers, cheesy get-ups and wolf-whistling female extras.
Manganiello, whose oft-naked “True Blood” character has already netted him a devoted following, has some of the best stage moments, like a fireman routine gone awry and a silhouetted pose that confirms the provenance of his character’s nickname. Matt Bomer (“White Collar”) is also in fine form as a dancer, Ken, whose signature performance plays off his doll-like face. The slightly wooden Pettyfer is at his best onstage, learning to work the crowd.
As you might expect, there’s a dark-side-of-hedonism turn, as the Kid’s partying gets out of control — but, thankfully, Soderbergh doesn’t wallow in it. There’s no shortage of tragic movies about the adult-entertainment world out there already.
Instead, his tone stays mainly with the sunny and, yes, Magic Mike, who you just know will always land on his feet — even when back-flipping off a stage into a mob of squealing sorority girls.