More Abs, but No McConaughey

Magic Mike XXL cruises on with more male testosterone as Channing Tatum and his bros strip on screen one more time. 

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Abs, dancing, and stripping: that’s basically the plot of both Magic Mike films in a nutshell. When the first Magic Mike hit theaters three years ago, people everywhere went wild, as did the critics of director Steven Soderbergh’s (Oceans Trilogy, Traffic and Sex, Lies, and Videotape) bromance dance-off. Soderbergh has since retired his director’s chair so a frequent colleague of his, Gregory Jacobs (producer of the Oceans Trilogy), decided to move into that position. 

The plot might be thin, but the characters were wild and the jokes were harder. Matthew McConaughey was the best part of the first film and it was unfortunate to not see him back with the old gang. But in McConaughey’s own words Magic Mike XXL is still “alright, alright, alright.” And that doesn’t stop Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash and Adam Rodriguez from getting their groove on at the stripper convention in South Carolina. In the end, Magic Mike XXL is far from great, but one cannot deny that it’s ridiculous entertainment. 

Magic Mike XXL is rated R (Restricted). For strong sexual content, pervasive language, some nudity and drug use.