Ex-stripper Mike Lane (Channing Tatum) has fallen on hard times. Bizarrely, he has lost his furniture-making business because of the coronavirus pandemic (yeah, I don’t know why they included that detail either) and is working as a bartender.
The plot of Magic Mike’s Last Dance is immediately nonsensical. Mike bartends for an event at the Florida home of rich socialite Maxandra Mendoza (Salma Hayek Pinault). Afterwards, she asks him for a lap dance, they sleep together and she invites him to move to England with her straight away.
Even weirder, she wants him to direct a theatre production to get back at the man she is currently trying to divorce, despite the fact that Mike has never directed anything before. Oh, and she says they can never sleep together again but Mike can live in her London townhouse.
But does the story really need to make sense? Anyone willing to part with their hard-earned cash to watch this movie knows exactly what they’re in for – they want to see Channing Tatum wriggle around semi-naked for a couple of hours. They want abs, and lots of them. On that principle alone, the film certainly succeeds.
We all know Mr Tatum is easy on the eyes, and he still looks as flawless as he did eight years ago when the last Magic Mike film was released. He’s also one of those people who is naturally funny, so the film is filled with scenes that will make you laugh as well as… other bodily functions.
The dancers featured throughout are genuinely very talented and fun to watch, sensuality aside. It’s also refreshing to see a woman of colour take the lead in this role, despite Hayek Pinault’s delivery being somewhat stilted at times. The bond between Maxandra and Mike doesn’t fully develop either, never allowing the viewer to truly get invested in them as a couple. But maybe that’s the point; anyone can have Mike in their imagination.
The inclusion of Max’s daughter Zadie (Jemelia George) as a character further lets the movie down. Whilst she provides some comic relief and ups the stakes for Max’s divorce, the story would be much more streamlined without her. The occasional narration provided by her was also confusing and random.
TLDR: If you’re attracted to men, there’s definitely worse ways you could spend your Valentine’s Day this year. If you’re not, feel free to give this one a miss.
Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros.
Film, media and journalism student. I like writing about my inability to eat gluten.
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