As ridiculous as it may sound, Soderbergh and Tatum humanized a male stripper and did so with the right balance of comedy and drama. The characters felt authentic; the central relationships, between Mike and rising stripper Adam (Alex Pettyfer) and veteran stripper Dallas (Matthew McConaughey) were strong and vibrant.
The sequel, “Magic Mike XXL,” is another pleasant surprise but for different reasons. The ending of the original didn’t exactly scream “sequel,” or at least a sequel that involves more stripping. To get around this, new director Gregory Jacobs — Soderbergh stays on as the director of photography under the pseudonym Peter Andrews — and screenwriter Reid Carolin acknowledge the original film’s existence while at the same time ignoring it.
At the beginning, we see that Mike has successfully opened his furniture company. However, before long, Mike is back to the dance floor. While working in his shop one night, the moves seem to bubble up directly from his subconscious. He tries to fight them, but they eventually possess him. So he decides to join his old stripping buddies, Richie (Joe Manganiello), Tarzan (Kevin Nash), Ken (Matt Bomer) and Tito (Adam Rodriguez) on the road for one last striptease at a stripper convention.
Jacobs and Carolin avoid lengthy, boring story exposition and jump right to the point. Jacobs and Carolin do need to explain the absence of some significant characters — namely Dallas, Adam and Adam’s sister Brooke (Cody Horn) — but even these explanations are handled swiftly and without hassle.
And, anyway, the movie gives us enough reason to forget them. “Magic Mike XXL” lacks the depth of “Magic Mike,” but it’s a lot of fun, blending silliness with sincerity. It’s aware of how ridiculous its premise is without continually winking at the audience and rarely references the first film.
The plot of “Magic Mike XXL” can best be summed up as: male strippers strip on their way to a stripping convention. Jacobs wisely keeps the focus on the core five as they goof around with one another; their bromantic chemistry becomes infectious.
The focus on the core five also means there’s no forced tension or forced romantic angle. The gang doesn’t have a falling out with melancholy guitar music playing over. At the stripper convention, there’s no competition with a rival group. Through this lack of plot, the movie avoids unnecessary clichés, making for a leaner, funnier, more satisfying film.
Tatum is superb as Mike, and it’s a role well suited for him. His performance here is less of a surprise than it was back then. At the time of the original, Tatum was still trying to find his acting identity. “Magic Mike” allowed him to let loose and embrace his comedic side. Since then, he’s turned into a legitimate acting force.
The other four are also strong, and the absence of Dallas, Adam and Brooke allows them to move into the foreground and be more developed as characters.
I have little doubt “Magic Mike XXL” will be a success with general audiences, particularly female. The first movie had a slight dramatic kick toward the end —which I think added more dimension to the characters and story — that a lot of people didn’t dig; “Magic Mike XXL” has no dramatic kick and a lot more stripping and good times.
At 115 minutes, the movie is perhaps too long, but just when it begins to wander, a striptease scene or a comedic beat gives the movie a shot of adrenaline and you’re back clapping and giggling with joy.
Rated R for strong sexual content, pervasive language, some nudity and drug use.