Something to watch tonight: Thursday 1 August

Magic Mike (Soderbergh, 2012)

It’s the first of August and on this date back in 2012 I reviewed the first of the surprise franchise Magic Mike.

Not mentioned in the review: that I saw the film at one of those ‘Chicks at the Flicks’ previews where an audience of women are plied with pink champagne and macarons in exchange for generating word-of-mouth in advance of opening weekend.

I was the only man in the audience … Not uncomfortable at all.

I’ll admit that I have been somewhat scornful of the talents of Channing Tatum in these pages – I once described him as having “the potential to be a Steve McQueen for the generation whose underpants are falling out of the top of their trousers” – but with 21 Jump Street and Magic Mike he looks to be finding a kind of stardom that he can call his own.

It’s vital that movie stars appear to be effortlessly comfortable in their own skin and we get to see precisely how comfortable Tatum is as he spends a great deal wearing not much more. He plays the Magic Mike of the title, an ageing Florida male stripper looking to cash out. Alex Pettyfer – another young studlet I’ve been rude about in the past – is “The Kid”, learning the ropes and going off the rails. Magic Mike is an extremely satisfying update of All About Eve: it feels authentic, the characters are easy to warm to and Steven Soderbergh’s direction is customarily efficient and deceptively relaxed. A quick final note about Matthew McConaughey – nice bongos.

Also in that Capital Times column: Loren Taylor in the Wellington indie Existence (a future recommendation here if I can find confirm how to watch it), Eco-doc Song of the Kauri, Robert Pattinson in Bel Ami and Bertrand Tavernier’s historical epic The Princess of Montpensier.