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
~~~
Showing posts with label Channing Tatum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Channing Tatum. Show all posts
Thursday, July 02, 2015
Saturday, June 21, 2014
22 Jump Street
Today I saw 22 Jump Street, starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum.
Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum) are back in this sequel to 2012's 21 Jump Street, which was based on the television show.
This time, instead of going undercover at a high school, the partners are tasked with finding a drug dealer at a college. All they have to go on is a photo of the supposed dealer with a girl who died from her actions while on the drug she was sold.
The usual silliness ensues as the pair begin to acclimate to the community. Schmidt hooks up with a beautiful art student and Jenko befriends the primary suspect in the case, convinced that he's not the real drug source.
After their worlds on campus grow too far apart, they decide to take a break from one another, which devastates Schmidt. The whole movie is basically a joke about the rough patch they're hitting in their 'relationship' so there is a predictable amount of parallels to romantic comedies.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't laugh a lot at this movie. Sure, it's formulaic, but sometimes when you just want to be entertained, that simple familiarity is not unwelcome.
Hill and Tatum have enough of a spark in their chemistry to keep the comedic fires burning, so go see this if you're okay with knowing what you're in for at the theater.
~~~
Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum) are back in this sequel to 2012's 21 Jump Street, which was based on the television show.
This time, instead of going undercover at a high school, the partners are tasked with finding a drug dealer at a college. All they have to go on is a photo of the supposed dealer with a girl who died from her actions while on the drug she was sold.
The usual silliness ensues as the pair begin to acclimate to the community. Schmidt hooks up with a beautiful art student and Jenko befriends the primary suspect in the case, convinced that he's not the real drug source.
After their worlds on campus grow too far apart, they decide to take a break from one another, which devastates Schmidt. The whole movie is basically a joke about the rough patch they're hitting in their 'relationship' so there is a predictable amount of parallels to romantic comedies.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't laugh a lot at this movie. Sure, it's formulaic, but sometimes when you just want to be entertained, that simple familiarity is not unwelcome.
Hill and Tatum have enough of a spark in their chemistry to keep the comedic fires burning, so go see this if you're okay with knowing what you're in for at the theater.
~~~
Saturday, July 07, 2012
Magic Mike
Tonight I saw Magic Mike, starring Channing Tatum and Cody Horn.
Let's be real—none of us were going for the plot anyway.
Magic Mike is the stripper name of Mike (Tatum), who has a lot of 'career' irons in the fire. He's a construction worker, auto detailer and maker of high-concept furniture, but his bread and butter comes from stripping.
Adam (Alex Pettyfer) is a 19-year-old 'kid' who Mike meets on a construction job. Down on his luck, Adam needs work, so Mike recruits him to be a prop guy at the club...which soon leads to him also becoming a stripper. And a drug dealer. And a punk.
Amidst all the chaos is a budding romance between Mike and Adam's sister Brooke (Horn). Brooke is the physical opposite of all the ladies that frequent the club: low-maintenance, sans makeup, real breasts. He's immediately smitten, of course.
As Mike attempts (quite unsuccessfully) to keep Adam on the straight and narrow, Brooke acts as his judgmental conscience, all the while falling equally in love (or lust) with him.
If the characters weren't so devoid of intelligence, it would have borderline sweet.
But Mike thinks he can get an SBA loan with a stack of ones he collected from his underwear, and Adam thinks he can 'lose' a backpack full of ecstasy and not repay his debts to the drug lords.
Really?
Yeah, it's not so good.
But the werewolf from True Blood (Joe Manganiello) does do some dancing, and Channing is undeniably convincing as the 'lead' stripper, so there are moments of pleasure here and there (I was personally partial to the 'military' sequence).
And Matthew McConaughey? Well, he's almost too convincing as the slimy club owner.
All in all, for a stripper movie billed as the ingredients for a quintessential ladies' night, I could have done with much less talking and a lot more action.
~~~
Let's be real—none of us were going for the plot anyway.
Magic Mike is the stripper name of Mike (Tatum), who has a lot of 'career' irons in the fire. He's a construction worker, auto detailer and maker of high-concept furniture, but his bread and butter comes from stripping.
Adam (Alex Pettyfer) is a 19-year-old 'kid' who Mike meets on a construction job. Down on his luck, Adam needs work, so Mike recruits him to be a prop guy at the club...which soon leads to him also becoming a stripper. And a drug dealer. And a punk.
Amidst all the chaos is a budding romance between Mike and Adam's sister Brooke (Horn). Brooke is the physical opposite of all the ladies that frequent the club: low-maintenance, sans makeup, real breasts. He's immediately smitten, of course.
As Mike attempts (quite unsuccessfully) to keep Adam on the straight and narrow, Brooke acts as his judgmental conscience, all the while falling equally in love (or lust) with him.
If the characters weren't so devoid of intelligence, it would have borderline sweet.
But Mike thinks he can get an SBA loan with a stack of ones he collected from his underwear, and Adam thinks he can 'lose' a backpack full of ecstasy and not repay his debts to the drug lords.
Really?
Yeah, it's not so good.
But the werewolf from True Blood (Joe Manganiello) does do some dancing, and Channing is undeniably convincing as the 'lead' stripper, so there are moments of pleasure here and there (I was personally partial to the 'military' sequence).
And Matthew McConaughey? Well, he's almost too convincing as the slimy club owner.
All in all, for a stripper movie billed as the ingredients for a quintessential ladies' night, I could have done with much less talking and a lot more action.
~~~
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