When the original “Magic Mike” was released in 2012, I distinctly remember NOT saying, “That was a lot of fun, but there’s clearly so much more nuance and complexity to the ‘Magic Mike’ saga, we’re going to need at least a trilogy to tell the whole story!”
Not to disparage Steven Soderbergh’s low-budget, big-profit, undeniably entertaining, sexually charged romp, which was a lot more fun than it had a right to be. Loosely inspired by star Channing Tatum’s own experiences as an exotic dancer in Tampa, Florida, when he was 18, “Magic Mike” actually had a LOT going on, what with Mike having big business ambitions (oh, that denied-loan scene, so heartbreaking!) and an on-again, off-again thing with Olivia Munn’s Joanna and also a budding relationship with Cody Horn’s Brooke, who was the sister of Alex Pettyfer’s “The Kid,” a protégé of Mike’s who went off the rails, and let’s not forget the star presence of Matthew McConaughey, who played “Dallas” a year before he hit Oscar gold in “Dallas Buyer’s Club,” and like I was saying there’s a lot going on in “Magic Mike.”
