Step Up meets Bridesmaids meets The Hangover meets Fifty Shades of Grey. Are you ready for more Magic Mike...?
Magic Mike XXL catches up with the characters 3 years on from 2012's Magic Mike. There are absent cast members and consequences to stories set up in the previous film, which saw Mike walk away from his career as a stripper. We find out all the drama that has happened in the last 3 years and as the men reunite, it becomes a journey to their sexy swansong and finale...one last time.
The premise couldn't be simpler. It’s a road trip, with stripping. And each stop along the way is a chance to strip. It reminded me of any of the later Step Up movies, except instead of a dance crew, they’re ‘male entertainers’. And instead of dancing, they’re stripping. You get the idea…
The premise couldn't be simpler. It’s a road trip, with stripping. And each stop along the way is a chance to strip. It reminded me of any of the later Step Up movies, except instead of a dance crew, they’re ‘male entertainers’. And instead of dancing, they’re stripping. You get the idea…
Whilst the original Magic Mike feels can be whittled down to
a drama-comedy, Magic Mike XXL definitely feels like a comedy. It is completely tongue-in-cheek. There are no
complex layers to it – what you see is pretty much what you get. And you see a lot. It doesn't push any classical boundaries whatsoever (a fact of which they are very aware), but it's a daring film in a completely other sense. Here's the challenge: how many strip scenes can you fit in 2 hours? You have to hand it to the team - it's a clever set up.
There are some interesting cast additions – notably Jada
Pinkett-Smith who is so scene-stealingly convincing as the group's new MC and queen of the Queens (you become a Queen when you watch the film), a sassy
Elizabeth Banks, and a surprisingly hilarious cameo from Andie MacDowell. To replace the absence of Matthew McConaughey and Alex Pettyfer, Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) enters in a flurry of song and rap. I didn't feel the chemistry between new addition Amber Heard and Channing Tatum, possibly because she looks like a baby-faced deceptively-young teenager for a lot of it. However, you get sizzling chemistry between Channing Tatum and every single person sitting in a cinema seat.
Ok, the fact that the story is 100% undeniably predictable is completely forgiven by one scene alone: Joe Manganiello strip-serenading a petrol station attendant to Backstreet Boys' I Want it That Way. Look out for the YouTube replays; you will never hear the song in the same way again.
What's different in this film is that the individual characters have a lot more 'me-time' and, yes, individual sequences. The team feel like a team, and there are peppy pep talks thrown in for good measure. Matt Bomer gets to sing. Heck, there's even a scene which worryingly reminded me of I Have a Dream, the musical number from Disney's Tangled.
What's different in this film is that the individual characters have a lot more 'me-time' and, yes, individual sequences. The team feel like a team, and there are peppy pep talks thrown in for good measure. Matt Bomer gets to sing. Heck, there's even a scene which worryingly reminded me of I Have a Dream, the musical number from Disney's Tangled.
The film is put together in a no-frills-attached way. (Instead of frills, you get abs.) Despite being unbelievably simple, the film is able to draw you in completely. Maybe it was the deafeningly loud speakers that made every woman's screaming feel like we were also in the club. Or perhaps it was just that all the girls in the cinema were screaming for real. (After all, Jada Pinkett-Smith told us to "get out of your seats and dance" in her intro.)
Either way, you are in for a treat. As a critically-judged film, I probably wouldn't be able to award more than two stars. But as an all-round entertainment package, I'd have to overlook the simplicity and recognise that it's a very conscious change from the first film to the second. I felt uncomfortable watching some of the scenes (be very careful of who you watch it with!), but 99% of the audience today would disagree.
I watched Magic Mike XXL at a press screening, and nearly dropped out just beforehand. BUT boy am I SO GLAD I didn't because...Channing, Joe, Matt, Jada, Amber and co. turned up to the cinema as a surprise - and my 15-year-old fangirl was unleashed. I always keep it very together for most premieres and screenings, but today was a rare exception. Just wow. A real treat ahead of a two-hour real treat indeed. Underneath all the sequins and well, all the stripping, it is still a tale of teamwork and friendship. Thanks for that, boys.
Magic Mike XXL is in UK cinemas on Friday 3rd July.
Either way, you are in for a treat. As a critically-judged film, I probably wouldn't be able to award more than two stars. But as an all-round entertainment package, I'd have to overlook the simplicity and recognise that it's a very conscious change from the first film to the second. I felt uncomfortable watching some of the scenes (be very careful of who you watch it with!), but 99% of the audience today would disagree.
I watched Magic Mike XXL at a press screening, and nearly dropped out just beforehand. BUT boy am I SO GLAD I didn't because...Channing, Joe, Matt, Jada, Amber and co. turned up to the cinema as a surprise - and my 15-year-old fangirl was unleashed. I always keep it very together for most premieres and screenings, but today was a rare exception. Just wow. A real treat ahead of a two-hour real treat indeed. Underneath all the sequins and well, all the stripping, it is still a tale of teamwork and friendship. Thanks for that, boys.
Magic Mike XXL is in UK cinemas on Friday 3rd July.
- Tuesday, June 30, 2015
- 1 Comments
