Magic Mike was a movie with hidden depths. It lured people in with the simple promise of men dancing seductively and taking their clothes off, but the movie was actually this fairly dark exploration of the effects of a struggling economy. Magic Mike XXL largely drops the darkness, though it has some hidden depths as well. It is far more indulgent when it comes to presenting fantasy, but those fantasies are a strange reflection of a world where even meager dreams feel like distant possibilities.
Since the last movie, Mike (Channing Tatum) has been running his custom furniture business. The business is going okay, but he’s still struggling. He needs to make a large investment to take the business to the next level, and he can’t even afford to give his one employee healthcare. To make things worse, he’s just been through a painful breakup. And then his old male stripper colleagues roll into Tampa. They’re planning to go to the male stripper convention in North Carolina, to make one last run at ruling that show. Mike, on a whim, decides to go with them. They take a road trip through the American South, meeting new and old friends along the way, all the while discovering what stripping means to them.
In contrast to Magic Mike, this sequel presents a much rosier view of male stripping. Through its plot, it makes an impassioned defense of the industry as a whole, presenting it as a business that puts women first, catering to their needs and healing them of their ills in the process. For the men, the business becomes a surrogate for their meager economic ambitions, and a journey towards self-actualization. Because the real world is tough and uncertain, and there is no guarantee that these characters will find success outside of the world of male entertainment. But while they’re on stage, they can be painters, singers, ice cream men, and husbands. And people will throw dollar bills at them for the privilege of watching play out fantasies of these ambitions.
It’s terribly clever, but the film does take a really long route to get there. It’s a shaggy film that could probably stand to lose a few minutes of plot. But to be fair, there’s a lot to like even in the scenes that kind of outstay their welcome. It’s fun to see these characters hang out. It’s all part of the fantasy that this film is laying out. These guys may be meatheads, but they are friendly, sensitive meatheads who support each other through their troubles. Conflict is thrown out of the window pretty quickly, as the business of taking of their clothes off for women is far more pressing.
Gregory Jacobs, the longtime assistant director for Steven Soderbergh, steps into the director’s chair for this sequel. But this film is still markedly Soderbergh’s. It might be helpful to note that both cinematography and editing were still handled by Soderbergh under pseudonyms. And there are quite a few bold choices in those departments that bear his mark. The lighting, for example is pretty subdued, with some of the scenes taking place in near-darkness. The technical package as a whole is pretty impressive, making the film a breeze to watch. Channing Tatum reprises the titular role, and he is fantastic. But pretty much everyone in this cast is pretty great.
Magic Mike XXL does get into some conceptually questionable territory. At some point, it starts to feel weird that the worship of women seems to involve stuff that disregards their consent. But then again, this film does take place in a fantasy world where sex isn’t an automatic taboo, where everyone is just happy to have a crotch thrust towards them. And it’s strange and it could probably a little trimming, but it’s still a terribly entertaining film that could leave audiences with something to chew on.
My Rating:
