I went to Magic Mike expecting to mildly entertained. As the theatre filled with teen girls and grandmothers, I wasn't sure what to expect. One very loud elderly grandmother was explaining to her daughter and granddaughter how she and group of her friends had attended a strip club and how much she was looking forward to the film. 'Buckle your seatbelt," I thought, "this may be a bumpy ride."
What I had not counted on it that the script was very well written. Reid Carolin has a great sense of dialogue which reminded me, believe it or not, of the overlapping speeches from Citizen Kane. It all felt very real and almost improvisational in style. Cody Horn and Channing Tatum had great rapport and were highly believable as two people falling in love.
The dance sequences in the film were outstanding. The dancers provided not just skin but energy and the cutting helped feed that excitement. Particularly outstanding besides Tatum were Alex Pettyfer, True Blood's Joe Manganiello and Matt Bomer. I often find Matthew McConaughey cloying but here his sense of shallowness seemed to actually support his character.
The surprise of the movie for me was Channing Tatum. I had not seen him in a film before so I expected a wooden Indian performance. I had seen him do his stripping on a SNL skit and had been impressed that he was not only an interesting dancer but actually had a personality that seemed to honestly come across. The camera loves him. He underplays most of his part and made all his reactions believable. Often the subtlety of emotion came from small facial gestures rather than melodramatic reactions.The interplay between him and the other actors--especially Cody Horn--really sold me on his performance.
When the movie finished, the loud grandmother said, "I expected to see skin, but I didn't realize I'd actually see a story. I loved it... I'd come back."
Magic Mike *****
What I had not counted on it that the script was very well written. Reid Carolin has a great sense of dialogue which reminded me, believe it or not, of the overlapping speeches from Citizen Kane. It all felt very real and almost improvisational in style. Cody Horn and Channing Tatum had great rapport and were highly believable as two people falling in love.
The dance sequences in the film were outstanding. The dancers provided not just skin but energy and the cutting helped feed that excitement. Particularly outstanding besides Tatum were Alex Pettyfer, True Blood's Joe Manganiello and Matt Bomer. I often find Matthew McConaughey cloying but here his sense of shallowness seemed to actually support his character.
The surprise of the movie for me was Channing Tatum. I had not seen him in a film before so I expected a wooden Indian performance. I had seen him do his stripping on a SNL skit and had been impressed that he was not only an interesting dancer but actually had a personality that seemed to honestly come across. The camera loves him. He underplays most of his part and made all his reactions believable. Often the subtlety of emotion came from small facial gestures rather than melodramatic reactions.The interplay between him and the other actors--especially Cody Horn--really sold me on his performance.
When the movie finished, the loud grandmother said, "I expected to see skin, but I didn't realize I'd actually see a story. I loved it... I'd come back."
Magic Mike *****
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