Magic Mike (Tatum) lives in Tampa. He has several jobs: construction worker, car detailer, furniture builderâ┚¬â€Âbut mostly he's a stripper. His life contains almost all the things you would assume a high-end male dancer would be exposed to: aimlessness, promiscuity, drugs and cheesy dance costumes.
The one thing it doesn't have, apparently, is any gay clientele.Tatum has teamed up with director Steven Soderberg (Traffic, Erin Brokovich, the Oceansfilm) to uncover a little of Tatum's own past life as a Tampa stripper.
In this fictional version, Tatum helps down-and-out young man (Pettyfer) into the biz. What Tatum doesn't know is that Pettyfer is going to quickly shoot his load and self-destruct in a way that the lifestyle seems to inspireâ┚¬â€Âa way that, magically, Tatum's character mostly avoids (like that gay clientele).
Magic Mike's strip routines will please the ladies and gays, but it's the same song and dance about strippers' sinning ways. There's a skimpy, unnecessary tacked-on romance. Also, this congenial flick cannot seem to decide if it's about Tatum or Pettyfer, so the story sometimes lacks thrust.
Two things save itâ┚¬â€Âbesides the stripping (and, honestly, Tatum can bust a move). Soderberg is a great director, even with the bare-bones plot. Also, the dialogue and setting are just fun enough that the actors are have the time of their lives. For a few sweaty bucks and a couple hours of pleasure, maybe you will, too.
Even after seeing this versionâ┚¬â€Âwith more character depth and emotion than the Tobey Maguire film 10 years agoâ┚¬â€Âyou'll still be hard-pressed to understand why it was absolutely necessary. There are plot holes galore. The film can't quite disguise that it's the same basic tale, despite its desperate attempts not to be. It's as if Hollywood is completely bereft of new ideas.
Garfield (The Social Network) is the new Peter Parker, orphaned by his parents, and raised by sweet Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). This time he's not in love with poor Mary Jane but rich Gwen Stacy (Stone). The same spider still bites Peter, and our hero still has to battle a crazed scientist from Oscorp. The new, duller villain is one-armed Ifans who turns himself into a velociraptor in order to grow back his missing limb.
Even as a comic book plot, very little of this makes sense. Apparently, there are colorful little chameleons all over the city. No one, not even Parker, thinks of letting others get bit by a radioactive spider in order to get superhuman strength. Once The Lizard knocks Spidey out, the villain just leaves. Then Spidey sends his girlfriend to where he knows the monster is going to be, only later apparently regretting the move and trying to stop her.
The effects are cool, the acting is top-notch, but this is the same dusty, spider-webbed story, only told with less logic.
As a child Mark Wahlberg made a wish, and ended up with a miracle: a real, live teddy bear. That stuffed animal (voiced by McFarlane) grew older with Marky Mark; they just never grew upâ┚¬â€Âremaining filth-mouthed adolescents, threatening Wahlberg's adult life.
It's no surprise McFarlane's directorial debutâ┚¬â€Âwhich he also wroteâ┚¬â€Âis about a man stuck in childhood. McFarlane parlayed just such immaturity into Family Guy, which started his comedy empire. McFarlane can bring the laughs, but he cannot quite seem to tell an original story about the difference between child-like wonder and irresponsibility.
Wahlberg has been with girlfriend Kunis for four years with nary an engagement in sight. That's perhaps because Ted the talking teddy still lives with them, smoking pot and hiring hookers. It's funny stuff, and obviously Kunis's character fell in love because of Walhberg's crazy youthfulness. However, Ted starts out very funny and mystical, full of the pop references and off-color jokes for which McFarlane is legendary. Instead of following throughâ┚¬â€Âand digging deeperâ┚¬â€Âthe plot falls into a pretty standard buddy pic with a boring kidnapping subplot thrown in.
That's not to say I didn't laugh. McFarlane is hilarious and brilliant at one-liners. The special effects that make Ted walk and talk are also cute. I still believe, however, there is a way to keep your miraculous childhood alive while maintaining a responsible adulthood; McFarlane just doesn't show us how this could happen with Ted.
