Magic Mike XXL

Tonight I saw Magic Mike XXL, starring Channing Tatum and Joe Manganiello.

You know what? This film is what it is. It is what it's supposed to be and it's supposed to be a movie for straight women and gay men to see with their friends and hoot and holler at the screen.

Mission accomplished.

The plot, if you could call it that, finds Mike (Tatum) re-joining his tribe of "male entertainter" mates as they take a road trip to the annual strippers' convention. Yeah, that's about it.

While that's pretty predictable, I will say that they do a better job this time around of fleshing out the characters (Kevin Nash's Tarzan is a budding artist; Matt Bomer's Ken experiments with energy healing), and it's later revealed just why we're supposed to care.

All of the men are charmers, but Manganiello really steals the show with a convenience store scene that can't be missed. His finale was also my personal favorite, but I've always liked Nine Inch Nails, so maybe that had something to do with it.

Jada Pinkett Smith is a perfect addition to the cast, adding a jolt of feminist strength, and the varied sizes of women they entertain throughout give me new respect for whomever cast the film. 

Put simply it's a really fun romp—lighter fare than last time, and that's a good thing. The only thing missing was Matthew McConaughey

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