Synopsis
Back to the grind.
Three years after Mike bowed out of the stripper life at the top of his game, he and the remaining Kings of Tampa hit the road to Myrtle Beach to put on one last blow-out performance.
2015 Directed by Gregory Jacobs
Three years after Mike bowed out of the stripper life at the top of his game, he and the remaining Kings of Tampa hit the road to Myrtle Beach to put on one last blow-out performance.
Channing Tatum Matt Bomer Joe Manganiello Kevin Nash Adam Rodríguez Jada Pinkett Smith Gabriel Iglesias Amber Heard Donald Glover Stephen Boss Michael Strahan Andie MacDowell Elizabeth Banks Juan Piedrahita Sharon Blackwood Alison Faulk Josh Diogo Vicky Vox Javier Madrid Dashaun Wesley Williams Carrie Anne Hunt Crystal Hunt Raeden Greer Lindsey Moser Savannah Southern-Smith Mel Chude Luke Broadlick Belle Eseoghene Omabele Julia Black Show All…
Magic Mike 2, 매직 마이크 2
"In the history of photography and film, getting the right image meant getting ones that conformed to the prevalent ideas of humanity. This included whiteness, of what colour—what range of hue—white people wanted white people to be....Movie lighting assume, privilege, and construct whiteness" —Richard Dyer, "Lighting For Whiteness"
The history of Hollywood in many ways is the history of the construction of whiteness. This goes beyond simply films that have depicted African Americans in stereotypes or margnizaled their roles in cinema but its material essence: celluloid was developed to favor light skin tones to dark skin tones. "In black-and-white films, cinematographers usually took white skin as the norm, employing lighting and laboratory practices that could reliably produce a certain image…
Magic Mike XXL is a putatively "modest"/"small" film — $14.8 million budget, 28-day shooting schedule, a shambling road movie meant to showcase extended musical numbers and largely excising the first film's recessionary panic. (Business is discussed, specifically the hustle of running a small business, but it's not the dominant throughline motivating everything as in the first, a line of inquiry Soderbergh pursued in Erin Brockovich, Bubble and The Girlfriend Experience, in ways that increasingly played like a meta-text about his own problems getting financing.) Where the original interpolated stripping sequences within Soderbergh's typically tight/obsessive editorial rhythms, XXL is very much meant to provide multiple, long, stand-alone showcases of raunchy choreographic acumen; comparison to the similarly chunky structure of Busby Berkeley…
like staring into the abs of god.
completely different from the first film, it feels like an R-rated STEP UP sequel as shot by Soderbergh, and if that idea does nothing for you, don't bother. characters bounce off each other beautifully in more ways than one... the film is so content to have zero concrete stakes. more involved in the communion of spectacle and the binding force of entertainment. reminded me of a great martial arts film re: the skill with which it knows how to top itself without ever going numb... this thing plays the audience to perfection.
recently saw Les Blank's A POEM IS A NAKED PERSON, and though MMXXL is a bit too linear for the comparison…
Didn't fully get the "himbo" trend until witnessing Joe Manganiello high on molly do a strip tease in a gas station in an effort to gain back some confidence while several other men, also absolutely blasted on molly, cheer nearby. Friendship is so powerful. This movie is a masterpiece.
the vibe the boys are taking into 2022. we all having healthy relationships and pursuing artistic avenues that makes us happy. happy new year!
a stylish hangout movie that sneakily doubles as a celebration of artistic passion and healthy friendships and creating spaces of intimacy and equality. pure unadulterated joy on screen.
82
Still bowled over by how this utilizes human sexuality as a safe, healthy, exciting framework for the continually showcased, but never discussed, inclusiveness of each and every character. Its spirit resides in the joy of making a woman smile and the electricity of pulling off a complex dance routine, for sure, but it also allows itself to be comfortable in its own skin, never resorting to providing the goods without a hefty dose of respect and morale. Sexual and, more broadly, emotional satisfaction of women and men and any identity or gender matters! What a celebration; those Minnelli and Renoir comparisons aren't hyperbole.
Dallas is gone, and so is The Kid. They've danced their way to China. Mike, still has some magic, but it's furniture making magic. But, when an outta the blue phone call from an old pal, wakes up Mike's inner pony; it's party time, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina style. Do the guys have what it takes to put on one last show? Magic Mike XXL is how you do a sequel. It's a road trip flick about life, love, and the magic of friendship. It's easy, breezy, light, and pure bliss.
I ain't gonna lie; I'm a fan of strippers. I like them on a pole. I like them on my lap. I like them on a table. I like…