FILM REVIEW: "Magic Mike’s Last Dance" ends the trilogy on a fun note
Perhaps because they’re about male strippers, the Magic Mike films have been unfairly derided as frivolous crap. At least, it’s been that way in the popular discourse. For anyone who’s watched these films with an open mind, the wholesomeness is surprising if not outright beguiling. The second instalment, Magic Mike XXL, was especially likeable, brimming with camaraderie and exuberance. The thin plot wasn’t a problem, because the vibes of easygoing hunky homeboys bonding with each other and delivering vigorously choreographed sexual spectacle worked a treat, painting a naturalistic portrait of positive masculinity.
Yet for all that, these films aren’t about frolicking in a utopian wonderland. The undercurrent of ageing and fiscal anxiety ripple just as obviously as sculpted biceps and chiselled pecs. Stripping is a gig for the young, after all, and Mike (Channing Tatum) has been looking for a way out since the first film. His best bet seemed to be as a furniture artisan. But the pandemic busted up plenty of dreams, Mike’s furniture business among them. After an erotically charged encounter with a wealthy socialite Maxandra Mendoza (Salma Hayek Pinault) at a fundraising party in Miami, she offers to whisk him away to her home in London and choreograph a musical showstopper, putting his particular brand of magic to good use by injecting some much-needed vitality to a staid theatre scene. It’s a strictly business proposition, though, passionate night aside. Naturally what follows is a bit of fish-out-of-water comedy and a will-they won’t-they dynamic.
The premise seems lifted from a ridiculous romance novel and scrubs away the working-class credibility this franchise had earned. The boys are mostly absent this go around as well, save for a single scene. It’s kind of disappointing, even if Steven Soderbergh’s crisp, smooth direction makes it go down easy. Also working in the film’s favour is Tatum’s affable hustler bit, which is every bit as appealing as it ever was. The admittedly small supporting cast also provides a hefty dose of colour and fun.
Magic Mike’s Last Dance contains a surprising amount of commentary on entrenched power dynamics and how female empowerment and pleasure can be negotiated within that space. Where it falls a little short is in the delivery of this commentary; sometimes the film will stop dead in its tracks, with a tacky voiceover included, to spell out this not especially interesting thesis. The anxiety of this movie to be ‘important’ or ‘about something’ is palpable and kills the buzz.
If you’re in it just for the action, so to speak, then not to worry, because this last dance assuredly ends the series on a high note in that regard.
