soph (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sophia_sol) wrote2016-07-12 08:53 pm
sophia_sol) wrote2016-07-12 08:53 pm
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Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL
This weekend was a bachelorette weekend for a friend of mine. It was great fun! And of course we watched some movies of the sort that one watches at events like this. Namely: the two Magic Mike movies.
I'd been kinda interested in seeing them for a while, given the type of reaction I saw a lot of people having to these movies, but also it didn't ever seem like a priority. I mean, I'm not exactly the correct audience for a pair of movies where a great deal of the point is to watch men being sexily mostly-naked.
So hey, now I've seen them. And turns out I did mostly like them!
The original movie, Magic Mike....well, people are right in saying it's not as good as the second one. There's a lot more angst and drama and attempt at a plot. I spent most of the movie wanting Adam to just shut up and go away, and he's one of the main characters, and the main driver of plot. But I did care a lot about Mike (and about Brooke) despite myself.
But the movie as a whole has a moral of "being a male stripper is bad and to be a fulfilled human you must leave that life behind entirely," which....is not great. Especially how it seems to me that Brooke really pressures Mike into agreeing with her on this point. So like: it's a movie where the appeal is supposed to be watching these male strippers, but it's telling the audience that you shouldn't enjoy that.
The second movie, Magic Mike XXL is not nearly so confused about what point it's trying to make. This is a movie where stripping is unapologetically great if that's something you want to be doing. And you know what, watching the stripping was enjoyable even though I have no personal interest in naked bodies or sex - I like watching people be competent at things, and there were some pretty competent strippers in these movies!
HOWEVER: The best thing hands-down about this movie to me is definitely Rome. She's just so great? Completely poised and in control of every situation she finds herself in. Apparently the role was originally written for a male actor and CAN I JUST SAY how glad I am that they decided to switch that up. Good work movie, A+ secondary character choices here.
But also, all through the movie I just kept finding myself giggling in delight because I couldn't believe that the kinds of things this movie chose to focus on were things that a real life actual hollywood movie would choose to focus on. It was an experience. And one I'm glad to have had.
(even though I have no real interest in ever rewatching either of these movies.)
I'd been kinda interested in seeing them for a while, given the type of reaction I saw a lot of people having to these movies, but also it didn't ever seem like a priority. I mean, I'm not exactly the correct audience for a pair of movies where a great deal of the point is to watch men being sexily mostly-naked.
So hey, now I've seen them. And turns out I did mostly like them!
The original movie, Magic Mike....well, people are right in saying it's not as good as the second one. There's a lot more angst and drama and attempt at a plot. I spent most of the movie wanting Adam to just shut up and go away, and he's one of the main characters, and the main driver of plot. But I did care a lot about Mike (and about Brooke) despite myself.
But the movie as a whole has a moral of "being a male stripper is bad and to be a fulfilled human you must leave that life behind entirely," which....is not great. Especially how it seems to me that Brooke really pressures Mike into agreeing with her on this point. So like: it's a movie where the appeal is supposed to be watching these male strippers, but it's telling the audience that you shouldn't enjoy that.
The second movie, Magic Mike XXL is not nearly so confused about what point it's trying to make. This is a movie where stripping is unapologetically great if that's something you want to be doing. And you know what, watching the stripping was enjoyable even though I have no personal interest in naked bodies or sex - I like watching people be competent at things, and there were some pretty competent strippers in these movies!
HOWEVER: The best thing hands-down about this movie to me is definitely Rome. She's just so great? Completely poised and in control of every situation she finds herself in. Apparently the role was originally written for a male actor and CAN I JUST SAY how glad I am that they decided to switch that up. Good work movie, A+ secondary character choices here.
But also, all through the movie I just kept finding myself giggling in delight because I couldn't believe that the kinds of things this movie chose to focus on were things that a real life actual hollywood movie would choose to focus on. It was an experience. And one I'm glad to have had.
(even though I have no real interest in ever rewatching either of these movies.)