by Gloria Daniels-Moss
Experiment 626 (which may, or may not be Stitch's real name) is an event embarked upon by the I'm With Geek Film Team. Film knowledge was unearthed, truths were found and a DVD exchange took place. These are the true life stories from that experiment...
To Gloria from Robbie
My film for Gloria is Magic Mike. In a similar fashion to The Wolf of Wall Street, Magic Mike is a perfect blend of drama and comedy. Whilst it seemed to be marketed as light-hearted romp, Magic Mike actually gets rather dark in places, in the same way as TWOWS, which makes for an excellent contrast. Even if you're not a woman, Magic Mike is a hugely enjoyable film, with the stripping scenes proving to be rather entertaining and hilarious, and maybe a bit more for some others.... In addition, the films stars Matthew McConaughey towards the start of his "McConaissance". He is brilliant in Dallas Buyers Club and The Wolf of Wall Street, but it was around the time of Magic Mike he started proving to everyone that he had genuine talent.
Experiment 626 (which may, or may not be Stitch's real name) is an event embarked upon by the I'm With Geek Film Team. Film knowledge was unearthed, truths were found and a DVD exchange took place. These are the true life stories from that experiment...
To Gloria from Robbie
My film for Gloria is Magic Mike. In a similar fashion to The Wolf of Wall Street, Magic Mike is a perfect blend of drama and comedy. Whilst it seemed to be marketed as light-hearted romp, Magic Mike actually gets rather dark in places, in the same way as TWOWS, which makes for an excellent contrast. Even if you're not a woman, Magic Mike is a hugely enjoyable film, with the stripping scenes proving to be rather entertaining and hilarious, and maybe a bit more for some others.... In addition, the films stars Matthew McConaughey towards the start of his "McConaissance". He is brilliant in Dallas Buyers Club and The Wolf of Wall Street, but it was around the time of Magic Mike he started proving to everyone that he had genuine talent.
When I first received the email for what film I had to watch for Experiment 626, I was excited to see what has been chosen for me. Unfortunately, the film chosen, I had already previously seen. However, I would like to take this opportunity to state the reasons why Magic Mike doesn't work for me. In a way, I suppose some aspects could be compared to The Wolf of Wall Street, yet so many simply cannot. Stating that I may be interested in this film because it also stars Matthew McConaughey is like saying I will love Phantom Menace just because I like Star Wars.
I mean, perhaps I am being too harsh on this chick-flick, but still after revisiting it, it had no real effect on me whatsoever. The script, although dark in places, is still at the end of the day limited, as all we are really doing is following a group of male strippers. Yes, this will probably make you laugh and yes ladies, you will find your jaw dropping as everyone’s favourite werewolf struts out on stage in next to nothing (go Joe Manganiello, go!), but don’t be fooled by the muscles! For those of you who don’t already know, Magic Mike is loosely based on Channing Tatum’s brief experience as being a male exotic dancer before his acting career really took off.
I know, I know, if you can believe it, right? Well, I will say this, the boy sure can dance. In fact, the entire cast fronting it, including Pettyfer and McConaughey, weren’t bad dancers at all. In one respect, it was refreshing to see male actors branching out and doing something completely out of their comfort zones. For most young actors starting out, I would imagine playing a male stripper would be at the bottom of their list, but Pettyfer certainly proved to us that he isn’t afraid of getting his kit off. Albeit, at the same time, each and every character we see onscreen are thinly drawn characters that offer us no reason at all to bond with them. One could argue that the only character to remotely have any sort of depth is Matthew McConaughey’s Dallas, the leader of the pack. But still all we see are leather pants…
I mean, perhaps I am being too harsh on this chick-flick, but still after revisiting it, it had no real effect on me whatsoever. The script, although dark in places, is still at the end of the day limited, as all we are really doing is following a group of male strippers. Yes, this will probably make you laugh and yes ladies, you will find your jaw dropping as everyone’s favourite werewolf struts out on stage in next to nothing (go Joe Manganiello, go!), but don’t be fooled by the muscles! For those of you who don’t already know, Magic Mike is loosely based on Channing Tatum’s brief experience as being a male exotic dancer before his acting career really took off.
I know, I know, if you can believe it, right? Well, I will say this, the boy sure can dance. In fact, the entire cast fronting it, including Pettyfer and McConaughey, weren’t bad dancers at all. In one respect, it was refreshing to see male actors branching out and doing something completely out of their comfort zones. For most young actors starting out, I would imagine playing a male stripper would be at the bottom of their list, but Pettyfer certainly proved to us that he isn’t afraid of getting his kit off. Albeit, at the same time, each and every character we see onscreen are thinly drawn characters that offer us no reason at all to bond with them. One could argue that the only character to remotely have any sort of depth is Matthew McConaughey’s Dallas, the leader of the pack. But still all we see are leather pants…
As so many films are today, Magic Mike is predictable. Not that guessing the outcome somehow hinders your viewing experience, but it would have been much more effective if this story didn’t end happily ever after. Or indeed we don’t see certain characters self destruct, just as we would suspect. Considering this is from a director that has given us such films as Traffic (2000), Ocean’s Eleven (2001) and the recent Side Effects (2013), it almost seemed as if his talent was wasted here. The direction itself wasn’t anything special and it seemed as if Soderbergh jumped on this one just to take the chance to do something different, or just for fun. To a certain degree, we see a mix between drama and comedy, but expect nothing more than a bit of fun, with little to no acting when viewing this one. Guys, you may want to bypass this one.
And ladies, if you want a film where the majority of male cast members are wearing very little, then this is the one for you. I hate to say it, but Magic Mike definitely needed a bit more magic and less of Tatum prancing around.
And ladies, if you want a film where the majority of male cast members are wearing very little, then this is the one for you. I hate to say it, but Magic Mike definitely needed a bit more magic and less of Tatum prancing around.
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