‘Magic Mike’ deeper, darker than ads let on

The commercials make "Magic Mike" out be a fun, light-hearted night out with the girls, without the two-drink minimum or the need for a bunch of ones to stick in g-strings. Actually though, "Mike" tries to be more than that, darker and deeper, but alas, it's as superficial as a spray on tan. Too bad.

Director Steven Soderbergh ("Traffic," "Ocean's Eleven," "The Informant!," "Contagion") has made some interesting movies. He was the reason I thought "Mike" could be more than just a bunch of guys shaking their booties. He and screenwriter Reid Carolin (his first feature film) have attempted to make a character study disguised as a comedic stripper film, but the characters aren't interesting beyond their stripping. Even if one character pleads unconvincingly, "I'm not what I do." Character studies only work when a person is interesting and you care about what happens to them. The filmmakers do acknowledge our hard economic times and the troubled banking system, but they feel perfunctory and go nowhere.

The good actors are wasted and the weak ones highlighted. So what do you get with "Mike?" A kind of fun, raunchy first half that then spirals into drug fueled orgies that should be titillating, but are just sad. There's also the classic Hollywood story of one star rising as another falls. And finally a clichéd romance that feels like a copout thrown in to have a feel good ending.

"Mike" is supposedly loosely based on its stars, Channing Tatum's teenage stripping days. Here Tatum plays Mike, the veteran, star attraction at Xquisite, a Tampa club where a handful of guys use cheesy dance moves, silly costumes and simulated sex acts to earn big bucks, a dollar or two at a time. Mike takes unemployed "Kid," Adam (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing and turns him into a stripper.

Adam's sister Brook (interesting newcomer Cody Horn), wants to know what the appeal is for her 19-year-old brother. Mike gives her "Stripper Wisdom," "… girls, money and a good time." That's logical. Brook is the one person who has their priorities straight, well, expect for regards to falling for Mike. Tatum is a good-looking guy and has charisma to spare, but he's not much of an actor. At least he's better than Pettyfer ("Beastly," "In Time"), who is a just a handsome blank slate with nice abs.

Matthew McConaughey ("The Lincoln Lawyer") is well cast as the wild club owner, Dallas, who dreams of opening a bigger place in Miami, stringing along his guys with promises of equity in the new club. He's appropriately sleazy and ambitious and still ripped.

The other strippers, Big Dick Richie (Joe Manganiello), Ken (Spring native Matt Bomer), Tito (Adam Rodriguez) and Tarzan (Kevin Nash) barely register beyond their buff bodies. You do see one of them using a penis pump as a warm up to a show.

Olivia Munn's talents are wasted as a student who uses Mike for sex. At least she is more than just a sex object like most of the cast. Tatum's not a bad dancer, although the dancing/stripping gets boring after awhile, but some of the music is fun and there are a few laughs.

Sally M. Hill may be reached at [email protected]