On February 10, the Magic Mike trilogy will be complete with the release of the final chapter Magic Mike’s Last Dance. What began as a blockbuster and critical hit more than a decade ago turned into a cultural phenomenon that has spread to memes, popular culture, and even the stage as a musical. The obvious appeal, of course, is stripping. The subject could easily be made into a superfluous and superficial film, but under the delicate eye of Soderbergh and Reid Carolin’s lucid screenplay, based on Channing Tatum’s experiences as a male stripper in Tampa as an 18-year-old.
The first episode turned out to be much more than sensual choreography and flaunting abs. Through its intelligent and seamless combination of comedy and drama, the film dealt with issues ranging from drug abuse, greed and existential dilemmas. His succession, Magic Mike XXL, is one of the best examples of what a sequel should be. The Gregory Jacobs (Soderbergh’s longtime collaborator and assistant director on the 1st magical mike film) directed image, never intends to reproduce its predecessor, as it expands the already created world and explores new themes and ideas, rewritten by Carolin’s brilliant pen with Tatum’s ideas in mind. By the end of the sequel, it’s clear that the Magic Mike franchise is about much more than sculptural bodies and striptease.
Men looking for meaning in the world
A common underlying theme of the franchise is the search for your place in the world. In magical mike, Tatum’s titular character has a deep desire to open his own custom furniture business, which is extremely difficult for him, as described in a scene where he tries to get a loan but is denied due to his credit score (the benefits of earning mostly cash). ). In Magic Mike XXLthis desire to transcend the short-lived stripper life is shared by Mike’s colleagues who also have their own dreams.
The first film highlights this through the contrast of Mike’s life and that of his protégé Adam (Alex Pettyfer). Mike is 30 and has been in the business for six years, and through it all he has a deep longing for something more meaningful in his life, while Adam is 19, just dropped out of college and not going anywhere anytime soon. The former’s life as a stripper seems to fade, and so does its meaning, while the latter finds a way forward by becoming a stripper. The second movie is essentially about a group of older strippers who go for one last show and become someone new by the end of it all. The sequel is not only about the individual’s search for meaning, it also portrays collective identities and emphasizes the fact that no human being is an island.
Magic Mike is about capitalism and the passage of time
Although stripping turns out to be lucrative, it is not enough for the characters of the film to make a living. When they are not working or partying, they have to find other ways to make a living. Mike and his friends are a reflection of the average American worker, who must have more than one money outlet to survive in a ruthless capitalist society. They also represent the entrepreneurial dream that ends in failure in most cases.
Time is sacred to them, it doesn’t stop and the clock of their lives is ticking faster and faster. This is one of them magical mike franchise’s most profound statements, the fact that aging will affect the economic stability of these men because of their profession, that society’s superficial demands and norms are the ones they won’t be able to fit in quickly enough, and if they don’t some other way find them to live, this world will spit them out and let them die.
Mathew McConaughey’s character Dallas in the first film is a clear representative of how capitalism and greed shape people’s lives. In one scene he says that when he has kids, he won’t send them to school, he’ll let them watch the stock market all day and teach them how to run a business. The disregard for education in favor of making money runs through the heart and soul of these films, reflecting American society’s obsession with money. Despite the fact that these strippers have dreams, they structurally want more than being their own boss or financial freedom, to survive and for that they need equity.
Male vulnerability
While standards of beauty and the glorification of youth are far more violently imposed on women in society, men who depend on these standards for their daily lives are no exception to society’s contempt for aging. In Magic Mike XXLexplores this idea in a very tender and forward-thinking way, portraying this group of adult entertainers in their latest run as sensible and vulnerable creatures.
Several scenes break gender norms and stereotypes by placing them outside of the strip club in environments where their relationship with others shows how much depth they have. First, on a layover on their way to their final presentation, Mike and company stop at a bar they used to frequent that is now a drag bar. When the MC calls to the stage anyone willing to show off their moves and earn $400, the gang makes their way up, showing moments that are comedic, tender, and generally real. For the first time, we can see them having fun outside of an environment where their bodies are mere commodities and their existence has been sexualized.
The other scene that fully explores their characters’ sensibility, and probably the most tender of the franchise yet, is when they stop at a girl’s house who meets one of the boys at a beach bonfire. To their surprise, she is not there, but her mother and her group of older friends are there. While initially drawn to the physical beauty of the men who arrived at the house, the conversation grows into one in which both women and men share their vulnerabilities, regrets and longings for youth, dreams and hopes, and much more. For the men it’s a moment when they interact with women without being seen as objects and seen for who they are, and for the women it’s a moment when they realize that despite their regrets about getting older and wasting their their youth, they are valuable and beautiful creatures that deserve love and affection. These moments are the core of the magical mike movies, moments of genuine humanity and basically people facing the inevitable aging process while finding beauty in life’s inevitable progression.