By Melissa Ann
Back in 2012, moviegoers were treated to Channing Tatum shaking his money maker on the big screen as Magic Mike. We watched as he and his crew, the Kings of Tampa, danced their ways to the height of their careers. In the end, Mike decided to trade in his thong for true love and leave the life for good. Or did he?
Three years later, we find Mike single and operating his own struggling furniture company. His former friends from Tampa get in contact and invite him along on a road trip to Myrtle Beach for a stripper convention. The Kings are disbanding and this looks to be their last gig. Mike initially declines their offer, but as fate would have it, he hears his main song from the old days (Ginuwine- Pony) and he reminds everyone, and himself, what he can do. We see Magic Mike come back to life while bumping and grinding in his workshop. Thankfully for everyone who enjoyed that scene, he agrees to tag along to the convention. Now, I’m not quite sure what exactly a stripper convention is, but if one comes to my area, I’ll be happy to attend for research purposes.
Joining Mike on the road trip are Ken (Matt Bomer), Big Dick Richie (Joe Manganiello), Tarzan (Kevin Nash), Tito (Adam Rodríguez) and Tobias (Gabriel Iglesias). While I enjoyed the characters played by Matthew McConaughey and Alex Pettyfer in the first movie, their absence allowed for the other characters to play bigger roles in XXL. One of my criticisms for the first Magic Mike was that Matt Bomer and Joe Manganiello were underused. Both are charismatic and gorgeous actors who needed more screen time and I’m glad they got it.
There were several additions to the cast, including the lovely Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith plays Rome, an emcee who operates a successful male dance club and Mike’s former manager before he joined the Kings. Even in a film filled with half naked men with god-like bodies, she still manages to steal scenes. Donald Glover plays a sensual and sweet singer/dancer at Rome’s club named Andre. I enjoyed the performance he brought and his cover of Bruno Mars’ “Marry You” was fantastic during Richie’s dance scene at the convention.
I was pleased to see that the dance scenes were more intense and it lost some of the drama and seriousness that we saw in the first movie. XXL did not take itself too seriously and delivered what was expected- a fun summer movie with plenty of eye candy that doesn’t require movie goers to think too hard.
Rating: 7/10
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