Magic Mike follows the story of Mike, a young stripper played by Channing Tatum who wants to own his own furniture business who has it all, looks, money and girls. When he meets Adam, (Alex Pettyfer) whilst working on a construction site, he takes him under his wing to lead the life he does and trains him to be a top class stripper, like himself along with his manager Dallas (Matthew McConaughey). As Dallas plans to take the strip club down to Miami, is Adam’s new life style all it’s cracked up to be, or does it take it’s toll on himself and the people around him?
Well, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to see this film for Alex Pettyfer and Channing Tatum, but I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn’t just a film about stripping! Steven Soderbergh has treated us to this film with many different sub-plots. We follow a romance between Mike and Adam’s strong willed sister, Brooke (Cody Horn). The audience is also shown how Adam learns the ways of his new life style and finds out everything isn’t so simple.
I thought the cast for this film was perfect. Matthew McConaughey is perfect for the role of strip club manager, he plays the role with such a causal attitude to what his job is, but portrays such a hilarious character. Channing Tatum was brilliant as Magic Mike. He projects how much he cares about his furniture business starting, but doesn’t neglect to show how much he loves stripping. The lucky audience also gets to see some of his brilliant dance moves, that where previously featured in Step Up. Alex Pettyfer as Adam was a really good casting choice. You saw the vulnerability of him learning to deal with his new life as a stripper, and coping with all of the new attention and responsibilities he had to deal with.
Although they were the 3 main characters to acknowledge, the rest of the cast were brilliant too. The other male strippers at the club added to the comedy and atmosphere of the film to make it even funnier. A tone of seriousness brought the boys wild life style back down to earth with Brooke. Cody Horn added the serious element the film needed without making it boring, brilliantly whilst falling for our main character.
All in all, Magic Mike is not just about the objectification men, it’s about seeing them reach their personal ambition and achievement in life too. This film is an action packed comedy with a gripping story line, and its easy on the eyes as well.
I highly recommend watching it, if not seriously, simply for a bit of a laugh.
