Magic Mike XXL (2015) | Movie Review

Mike is magic, we all know this. As Channing Tatum thrusts and writhes near anything with a pulse throughout “Magic Mike XXL”, it becomes painfully obvious this man’s pelvic area is a David Copperfield theme park of salaciousness. Does that make for an engaging movie though?

“Magic Mike XXL” picks up a few years after the first, as Mike has continued to struggle growing his carpentry business. When his old posse (Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash, and Matt Bomer among them) come to town teasing their shot at a national stripper title, the old ‘Male Entertainer’ life becomes too tempting to resist. Mike takes a shot at recapturing his former glory by ditching the working man routine and sliding back into the g-string and backwards baseball cap. The movie becomes a road trip of the lap-dance variety as the boys set off in their food truck of dreams in pursuit of a shower of dollar bills.

Let me just cut to it – As a movie, “Magic Mike XXL” is no bueno. There’s no structure, no real plot, and the pacing is a virtual helicopter of happenstance, fluttering and stuttering all over the place. As a critic, there is not much here that would bring this film close to the level of the first (and much more organized) original film. Hell, this isn’t even as nuanced as Showgirls.

As entertainment though? If you’re a lady looking for near-naked men to lather you with baby oil (those are ladies, right?), if you’re a gay man, or if you’re a completely heterosexual male who just appreciates the form of dance and Tatum’s stupendous abs, you’re gonna love this movie.

You see, Magic Mike isn’t trying to be cinematic gold. It wants to perform the basic requirements of a striptease: Get them in their seats, crank up the autoerotic pop music, and let Mike and his crew do the rest. This is does in spades, though with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

Whatever you are into is represented here. Every ethnicity, every body shape (except the dad bod, that has no place here), and even an assortment of music for varying tastes. There is no story, but there is plenty of everything else.

Hey, if you’re looking for an explosion of cinematic delights, “Magic Mike XXL” is not for you. A good movie does not reside here. But if you feel like easing back in your chair, ignoring basic common sense and logic, letting go of all inhibitions (and genuine decency), and embracing some good humor and phenomenal dancing routines – you’ll have a great time with this awful movie.

This was made for a very specific demographic in mind, and for all of those amped-up sexpots looking for nothing more than cheap, tawdry thrills – this “Mike” is magic.

Aaron Peterson
The Hollywood Outsider