I honestly think that the sociological experience of this film was more interesting than the film itself. I took my mother on a night in the middle of the week, because she has a Matthew McConaughey thing and she thought it would be funny. We got to the theater and we saw multiple groups of giggling women approaching the counter for tickets: “Oh, we’re cliches,” I noted.
Honestly, I am all for the fact that movies can ~bring women together~ or something, but it weirds me out that the only movie I can think of that I have ever seen such a predominantly female crowd for (actually, I think the audience was only women) is a movie about male strippers where you sort of could tell they’d all gone to go “ooh, butts and stuff.” There were female characters in the movie, yes, but none of them were that well-developed. Actually, the male characters weren’t that well-developed either.
And there is probably nothing wrong with wanting to go see a movie because “ooh, butts and stuff.” I guess that’s your prerogative. I mean, I am physically incapable of that (though, you know, sometimes I watch movies at home because “ooh, Summer Glau and stuff” or something, but that’s both physical attraction and interest in watching good actors act and whatnot) but I can’t stop someone from processing that way. I just would rather that the female community, like, bond over a movie for reasons other than “ooh, butts and stuff.” Call me crazy.
There are plenty of movies where all women are there to do is titillate. In that way, I guess it’s turnabout as fair play that people went to Magic Mike expecting that. And hey, there were stripper scenes. Channing Tatum danced. Alex Pettyfer danced. Matt Bomer and Joe Manganiello and Adam Rodriguez and Kevin Nash danced. Matthew McConaughey even danced. But that… kind of wasn’t actually the point?
I think they intended to make a movie about the troubled nature of Magic Mike and Adam the Kid’s relationship to their profession of stripping. They relatively succeeded in making us realize that they were conflicted. Magic Mike wanted to start a business and do other things, Adam was still trying to figure out what the hell he was doing with his life. It was kind of that Mad Men thing of the slightly older guy, like Don or Mike, is trying to make changes in his life while the younger guy, like Pete or Adam, is just trying to enjoy the place he’s in to mixed success.
But you see, I just… I didn’t care. I couldn’t even be that interested for “ooh, butts and stuff” because I just don’t dig on really any of the guys in the movie. Joe Manganiello comes closest, just because True Blood on principle, but wow, none of the characters were actually that interesting, and I have a hard time being interested in a thing that has boring characters unless it’s just so bad it’s ridiculous or something. Which this wasn’t. It was fine, it was just boring.
And I kind of hope that the next time that all women bond over a movie, it actually has interesting and well-drawn lady characters. I mean, Cody Horn’s Brooke was clearly a decent person and occasionally made me crack a smile, but basically they just wrote her to be Look, A Responsible Person, and that’s not fair. Olivia Munn’s Joanna could have been interesting, I mean, theoretically bisexual psychology student, cool, but basically they just wrote her to be Look, A Bitch, and that’s not fair. I liked Riley Keough’s Nora’s hair, but they definitely just wrote her to be Look, A Bad Influence Who Is Clearly Alternative, and that’s not fair.
And you could Look, A Character Type with the guys, too. Mike was Look, A Protagonist, Adam was Look, A Confused Youth, McConaughey’s Dallas was Look, A Sleazebag, the other strippers were Look, Male Strippers. They weren’t even that individually defined.
I don’t know. I just… I think I was expecting something else? Or I was hoping for something else? Character development, I cry out for the thousandth time, hoping that Hollywood will hear.
On the bright side, there was an adorable and tiny pig. Who for some reason wandered in and out of the sex/drugs/artistic lighting montage, and I still don’t know why, but. Adorable and tiny pig.
–your fangirl heroine.
