Magic Mike (2012)

A male stripper teaches a younger performer how to party, pick up women, and make easy money.

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writer:

Reid Carolin

Stars:

Matthew McConaughey, Channing Tatum, Olivia Munn

5 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew McConaughey	...	Dallas
Channing Tatum	...	Magic Mike
Olivia Munn	...	Joanna
Alex Pettyfer	...	Adam
James Martin Kelly	...	Sal
Cody Horn	...	Brooke
Reid Carolin	...	Paul
Avery Camp	...	Girl in Line
George A. Sack	...	George (as George Sack)
Micaela Johnson	...	Portia
Denise Vasi	...	Ruby
Camryn Grimes	...	Birthday Girl
Kate Easton	...	Liz
Asher Wallis	...	Obnoxious Bar Guy
Joe Manganiello	...	Big Dick Richie

Storyline

Mike Lane is a thirty-year old living in Tampa,Florida. By day he works as a roofer whilst at night, as Magic Mike, he is the star attraction of the Kings of Tampa, a group of male strippers. Secretly he wants out in order to further a projected furniture-making business but his credit rating precludes a bank loan for this despite his considerable savings. One night Adam, a teen-aged work-mate of Mike, follows him to the club and, when one of the acts is unable to go on,he is prevailed upon to strip - becoming a huge hit. However success goes to his head and his foolish actions not only threaten to jeopardize his sister Brooke's relationship with Mike but Mike's ambitions as well.

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Plot Keywords:

male stripper | male nudity | white briefs | strip club | alcohol | 

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Taglines:

Work all day. Work it all night.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive sexual content, brief graphic nudity, language and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bez kalhot

Filming Locations:

The Bricks of Ybor, Tampa FL

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$39,127,170 (USA) (29 June 2012)

Gross:

$113,709,992 (USA) (21 September 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Iron Horse Entertainment (II), Extension 765

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Aside from music at the parties and clubs, there is no score in the film.

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Goofs

The black F-150 Tatum starts off with clearly has the EcoBoost on the side in the first above shot of the truck (visible on Blu-Ray). Subsequent shots of the truck do not show the sticker.

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Quotes

Mike Martingano: I have, like, $13,000 saved.
Paige: Wow. That's a lot of ones.
Mike Martingano: There are some fives in there.
Paige: Oh, ok. No twenties?
Mike Martingano: Oh, you don't wanna know what I have to do for twenties.

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Crazy Credits

The Warner Bros. logo used at the opening of the film is a modified version of the Saul Bass designed logo from the 1970s.

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Connections

Referenced in Tosh.0: Army Mom Prank (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Divine"
Written by Paul Allen and Doug Barrett
Performed by Paul Allen and The Natural Born Swimmers
Courtesy of Submersible Records

User Reviews

Defies easy classification.

Continuing his endless refusal to play by the rules laid out before him, Steven Soderbergh's latest film goes to a place where most Oscar-winning directors wouldn't dream -- the male stripper movie. Based loosely on the experiences of a young Channing Tatum, who stars in and helped produce the picture, Magic Mike is an insider look into an all-male revue, where the abs are chiseled and the dreams are big. Working off a surprisingly well-balanced and intelligent screenplay from first-timer Reid Carolin, Soderbergh initially presents the world of Tatum's titular character as an alarmingly fun time, loaded with money, women and a job where you get to be on stage to the delight of all.

The entry point into Mike's world comes in the eyes of the young and unmotivated Adam (Alex Pettyfer), who is brought into the club and shown the joy of it all by Mike. Taken under Mike's wing, and given employment by the owner and master of ceremonies Dallas (Matthew McConaughey), Adam is quickly thrust into the spotlight of this world and presented with a wealth of sexual and financial opportunities previously unavailable to him. This world is a blast at first, with wildly entertaining montages of the men performing their acts on stage transitioning between Adam and Mike becoming best friends and spending their days soaking in the sun, earning cash and being surrounded by attractive women.

It's easy to see how one could be seduced into this lifestyle, but the genius of Soderbergh's direction and Carolin's script is in the subtle ways that the darkness begins to creep in. Magic Mike avoids the typical beats of its premise by never hitting too hard on any of the plot points, letting the descent of these characters feel much more organic as opposed to something that was designed from the start. Along with impressively natural dialogue, Carolin never hits you over the head with the kind of danger that this world puts Adam in and the allure of it is remains front and center even when the risks start to grow heavier.

One of the many fine representations of this conflicting nature comes in the form of Dallas himself, played to perfection by McConaughey. The actor seduces the audience, and Adam, right out of the gate and yet there is always something lurking just underneath that doesn't sit quite right. Dallas is constantly in control of his employees, taking charge of them just as he takes charge of the women in his audience, and McConaughey captures this with a reptilian charm that ropes you in rather than biting your hand.

Adam is pulled into this world and the danger only becomes real after its potentially too late for him to get out, while Mike is struggling with moral conflicts of his own and constantly striving for a way to get out of the lifestyle that he makes look so appealing. Soderbergh succeeds marvelously in making the world of Magic Mike all glitter and glam on the surface, only making you aware of the seedy underbelly if you're willing to look deep enough into it. The story takes traditional paths, but its the atmosphere that sets it apart from those that it could have felt familiar to.

There's a naturalism to it all that is impressive, feeling fun without ever glamming it up to an unrealistic level. Magic Mike never feels like a Hollywood version of the stripper story, but rather like an authentic account -- no doubt aided this execution by the life experience that Tatum brought to the project. For someone like Soderbergh who constantly works against the path most directors of his stature go down, nothing is ever really unexpected, but Magic Mike is further proof that he is the most fearless and versatile American director working today.