Magic Mike XXL (2015)

 

I'm a fan of Steven Soderbergh (and appreciate the fact that his projects tend to cover a pretty wide spectrum of genres), so we had seen and enjoyed the original Magic Mike on Blu Ray. Having booked tickets to take Vonna to see Magic Mike's Last Dance this weekend, it was only appropriate that we not risk missing out on the subtle story nuances that could be lost on us if we didn't watch the initial sequel, Magic Mike XXL, so we decided to check it out in The Slaughtered Lamb last week.

What I didn't realize until the credits rolled was that unlike the first and third films in the series, the second was produced but not directed by Soderbergh himself. Which allows me to give it a bit of a pass for lacking in the story department. What we're served up is basically a road trip movie, with a requisite stop every few minutes for an obligatory stripper scene. Having seen more than enough exploitation films in my life, I can't fault this one for pandering to its audience. 

While the likes of Matthew McConaughey and Olivia Munn from MM1 were missed, they did manage to get most of the rest of the cast to reprise their roles. And they managed to pull in a few fresh faces that we were surprised to see. I recognized Amber Heard immediately despite her shadowy introduction, though she isn't given much to do here. Vonna was quick to spot the late Stephen "tWitch" Boss as soon as he appeared onscreen. It took me a minute to recognize Donald Glover, who despite being in his early 30s at the time, looks about 14 (this was still three years before his turn as a young Lando Calrissian in Solo). Jada Pinkett Smith steps in as a de facto replacement for McConaughey's ringleader, and Elizabth Banks shows up in what appears to be her default film role of late, as a boisterous gal with a microphone (of course that may all change with the film that is sure to be her breakout feature as a director, Cocaine Bear). 

As I said previously, there's not much of a story in MMXXL to stitch together the dance sequences, and while it has all the makings of a 'one last hurrah' story, the finale isn't really a competition for the guys 'to win,' and so it just kind of... ends. I'm hoping that the new Soderbergh film will bring a little more depth back to the franchise with the final dance (that of course depending on how successful the film is!), but he's got his work cut out as Channing Tatum is pretty much going this one alone. To his credit, at least he's taking Salma Hayek along for the ride.