CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio review for the doc series “Charlie Hustle & the Matter of Pete Rose,” about the rise and bitter fall of the major league legend, the MLB’s all-time hits leader, only to be banned from the sport because of gambling. Streaming on MAX and on HBO since July 24th.!—break—>
Film Review: Nichely Entertaining ‘Magic Mike XXL’ a Substanceless Soft Porn
- Adam Fendelman
- Adam Rodriguez
- Amber Heard
- Andie MacDowell
- Channing Tatum
- Donald Glover
- Elizabeth Banks
- Gregory Jacobs
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Jada Pinkett Smith
- Joe Manganiello
- Kevin Nash
- Magic Mike
- Magic Mike XXL
- Matt Bomer
- Michael Strahan
- Movie Review
- Reid Carolin
- Stephen Boss
- Steven Soderbergh
- Warner Bros.
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CHICAGO – You know those amateur porns with no-name actors that use cheesy dialogue in between the sex scenes those viewers simply want? You never expect a real story or actually developed characters because it’s a collection of sex scenes. It’s not a real, you know, movie.
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“Magic Mike XXL” is a soft porn with professional, “A”-list actors, but the film’s script takes the same substanceless qualities of its amateur porn brethren. Unlike soft porns, the sequel’s cinematography is Hollywood caliber and its actors know how to act, but its script is just as insulting. And the film’s purpose for being is the same: just to show you their dancing naughty bits with cheap words in between.
Though I’m not the demographic for “Magic Mike XXL,” I can recognize the value of pure shut-your-brain-off entertainment. Sometimes that comes in the form of a brainless popcorn flick that just blows stuff up and uses CGI to make special effects look appealing.
Other times it’s well-oiled strippers turned actors who revisit their stripper days just to strut around shirtless for two hours and dance into the smooth recesses of every woman’s fantasy. I know “Magic Mike XXL” has that as its primary mission, but I can’t forgive it for having nothing else to say.
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Targeting a “girl’s night out” movie, the primary purpose for this film is seeing mostly nude strippers dancing with little concern for the story that propels them. But when a film has a $14.5 million budget and decides to write one of the laziest, non-existent stories I’ve seen in 2015 – and in Tuesday pre-shows it’s outpacing “Terminator Genisys,” which actually attempts to have a real story – something is very wrong and Hollywood is laughing to the bank.
“Terminator Genisys” isn’t a perfect film either, but “Magic Mike XXL” is proving how unintelligent audiences are willing to be in exchange for flashing some flesh and dancing smooth grooves.
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![Stephen Boss, Matt Bomer, Kevin Nash, Joe Manganiello, Channing Tatum and Adam Rodriguez Magic Mike XXL Stephen Boss, Matt Bomer, Kevin Nash, Joe Manganiello, Channing Tatum and Adam Rodriguez Magic Mike XXL](http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/sites/default/files/magicmikexxl1.jpg)
Image credit: Warner Bros., Claudette Barius
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