No More Magic: A Film Which Throws the Script Out the Window and Lacks Cast Dedication

Rating: 6/10 (20 July 2015)

Magic Mike XXL, the sequel to the much-lauded Magic Mike is exactly what you were expecting the first film to be. When Magic Mike came out in 2012, many were surprised by how director Steven Soderbergh was able to humanize and bring tension and emotion to a story about male strippers. However, with Soderbergh not directing the second film, the story turned into an audience-pleasing film that prioritized abs over the script quality.
Magic Mike XXL picks up with Mike (Channing Tatum) having finally started his own furniture building company (a dream he was working towards in the first film). The company is miniscule; so much that Mike has only one employee whom he can barely pay. But given the circumstances, Mike is happy, this was what he had always wanted. However, we see in brief flashes that Mike does miss doing his "magic" and dancing on "the stage." During a particularly impressive scene Channing Tatum dances to "Pony" in his wood shed, sliding and spinning around tools and planks erotically. Coincidently during a surprise reunion with his aging stripper ex-coworkers he is convinced to go to the Myrtle Beach stripper convention and dance with the boys one last time.
The film's script is not worth analyzing, the director: Gregory Jacobs clearly wanted to focus more on physical comedy and dancing than anything else; unfortunately this makes the non-dancing scenes completely eternal and pointless. Regrettably, there are very few dancing scenes as well; besides the woodshed there is also a gas station dance that had everyone cracking up as Joe Manganiello's character tries to make a cashier smile on a bet, and then there is the stripper finale. There really is one good non-dancing scene which takes place at Andie MacDowel's character's house, but that's mainly because of the good acting from MacDowel (yes I was surprised she was in this film as well), Matt Bomer, Amber Heard, and Channing Tatum.
The cast does seem extremely uncomfortable throughout the whole movie; even Channing Tatum wasn't really giving it his all, and it felt as though director Jacobs hadn't had a strict hand with his actors. Also many actors felt lost, I for one suffered as Matt Bomer struggled to make his character's actions seem rational and as he tried to dance. The only actor who was giving it full passion and felt like he was having the time of his life was Joe Manganiello, and it's unfortunate that his time to shine was in such a blunt movie. The cast had the female supporting additions of Jada Pinkett Smith, who was overused and a scene in her house dragged far too long, the surprising and afore mentioned Andie MacDowel (underused, but stealing the show when she was given the chance) and Amber Heard (had 2 minutes where she showed some spark).
So in the end Magic Mike XXL ended up being what us cinema critics were hoping it wouldn't be. Disappointment? Yes. Entertainment? A little. Abs? A lot.