Girls Trip

Tonight I screened Girls Trip, starring Regina Hall and Queen Latifah.

Ryan Pierce (Hall) is a successful self-help author on her way to keynote the Essence Festival in New Orleans with her three best college pals in tow: Sasha (Latifah), Lisa (Jada Pinkett-Smith) and Dina (Tiffany Haddish).

Sasha is a celebrity gossip blogger who gets a tip that Ryan's husband Stewart (Mike Colter) is having an affair. She and the other girls share this with Ryan, who already knows about the infidelity, but is keeping up appearances for the sake of their joint brand.

Determined not to let the looming threat of a leak ruin their weekend, the women press on, partying in VIP circles, drinking, dancing and trying to get (uptight) divorcée Lisa laid. To complicate matters, Ryan's agent has set a meeting during the event with the head of a major retail store that's looking to make a lucrative deal with Ryan and Stewart.

That's all I can say without giving it all away, so I'll just say this: although there is one gross scene I desperately wish I could un-see, this isn't your average we-drank-too-much-and-will-pay-for-it party movies. It's a fun, feasible movie about four women with a host of issues just trying to get through life with a little help from their friends.

Because the screenwriters didn't just focus on Ryan's story, the audience develops empathy for all the players, giving each more dimension than a traditional "supporting" cast.

This film had a lot of laughs—but more importantly—a lot of heart.

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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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