June 29, 2012 in GENRES
MAGIC MIKE
RYAN: Let’s see if I can make it through this review without blushing.
CAROLINE: [laughs’ Ok. Let it all hang out, pun intended. Just how hot was this movie?
RYAN: These men are very hot and their moves are pretty slick but actually it’s never gratuitous or over the top. The stripping is not all-out tasteful; it’s more just matter of fact. It’s a movie about guys who work as male strippers and it goes there.
CAROLINE: That’s good to know. And it’s sort of autobiographical for Channing Tatum. He is a former stripper, so…
RYAN: And he steals the show. He’s the only real dancer in the film. Everyone else clearly lives at the gym and knows how to work the tear-away pants but Channing is really the only one with real moves. And the story is split between his and Alex Pettyfer’s character. They’re the leads.
CAROLINE: How big of a part does Matt McConaughey play?
RYAN: He’s got a decent supporting role and one of the best scenes is where he teaches Alex how to dance. But Matt was doing his best Gina Gershon in Showgirls impression. A little too close for comfort, that moment is actually pretty sexy… perhaps unintentionally. And it’s the one homoerotic moment in the film.
CAROLINE: How’s the rest of the cast?
RYAN: Joe Manganiello continues to do great muscle-acting and Matt Bomer is kinda just there.
CAROLINE: So much for his big break into movies.
RYAN: It’s interesting because it’s obviously a movie for the girls and the gays but it’s really a guy’s movie too. It’s about the guys and it’s their total dude experience. But still, I don’t see a lot of dudes running to the theater to see this.
CAROLINE: Is it campy at all like Showgirls?
RYAN: No it’s not cheesy or campy at all. I really didn’t even laugh. Maybe chortled once at appropriate humor. It’s a drama with some strip numbers. And it’s typical Soderburgh – shot with a yellowish hue and a lot of bright pink everywhere.
CAROLINE: This was an interesting choice for him.
RYAN: Well legend tells Channing took his story to Soderburgh and they developed it together. So it’s loosely based on things Channing witnessed when he stripped.
CAROLINE: Yeah Channing is certainly owning the fact he was a stripper. How was the choreography?
RYAN: The music is great and Channing’s choreography is really good. He’s like a sexy hip hop dancer from TV’s So You Think You Can Dance. At one point I wanted to stuff some singles in the screen when he danced. The rest of it was just typical, like, Chippendales kinda motion. Not that I’ve seen a show like that, but one can imagine.
CAROLINE: And what about the chicks in it?
RYAN: I like Olivia Munn and the main girl is played by Cody Horn. She was very good.
CAROLINE: That’s cool. I would like to see it.
RYAN: You should. It’s under two hours. It’s a unique R-rated drama. And it’s worth seeing on the big screen… in fact, I’d say it deserves a rerelease in 3D someday [laughs’.
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