Reprising his role for the third time, a buffed-up Channing Tatum returns to the screen in Magic Mike’s Last Dance.
The original ‘Magic Mike’ episode was a 2012 film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, and Matthew McConaughey – and don’t be mistaken, it’s a show about male strippers, so you’re either going to like that or not.
Magic Mike XXL saw the ‘dancers’ return in 2015 when, three years after quitting male stripping, Mike has his own furniture business – but the stage calls and he spends most of the film with his shirt off.
Not much has changed in 2023 except that Mike, who has since lost his furniture business during the COVID-19 pandemic, is now living in Miami working as a bartender for a catering company. At a fundraising event hosted by Maxandra ‘Max’ Mendoza, (Salma Hayek) Mike is recognised by Kim, a lawyer for Max’s foundation. After the event, Max asks to speak to Mike privately (I wonder what happens next?)…
Alone, Max says Kim told her about his prowess and asks how much she would have to pay him for a lap dance. Mike says he’s retired, but (spoiler alert) ultimately says ‘$60,000’ when pushed for a price. Max agrees, but during the dance she and Mike give in to passion and sleep together.
The next morning, Max offers to take Mike to London for a month and pay him, another $60,000 for his time. Mike, of course, takes to the stage again with a rag-tag bunch of oh-look-men-without-their-shirts-on…
See Mike dressed, and not, at Ballina Fair and Palace Cinemas this week.
