Review of Magic Mike’s Final Dance – Great

Magic Mike wasn’t a movie I foresaw getting a trilogy. The very first movie, directed by Steven Soderbergh, focused on a male strip club and their headliner Mike. The occupation may seem all razzle dazzle, but the reality is far from glamourous. The second movie, Magic Mike XXL, involved the men seizing their agency, and performing a strip show in the way that they want. It was more of a comedy, which was a major shift from the dramatic chops of the original film.

So where does Magic Mike’s Last Dance fall? I would say it feels surprisingly like a rom-com, well, as close as we can get to a rom-com since this is still a Steven Soderbergh film.

Mike (Channing Tatum) has never been lucky in love. He had relationships in the past two movies, but both fizzled out and he was unable to make them work. Enter Maxandra (Salma Hayek), who’s going through a bit of an identity crisis because of issues in her marriage. Mike, too, is down on his luck, with his furniture business closing down because of COVID, and working odd jobs to make ends meet. After Max hears about Mike’s talents from her lawyer friend, she makes him an offer: She’ll pay him six thousand dollars if he can show her what exactly he does.

I must emphasize that I’m not some newbie to the world of Magic Mike. I’ve watched both movies, the second with my girlfriend in a cinema filled with screaming women. But even I was unprepared for how intimate the dances were going to be in this film. Tatum and Hayek have electric chemistry together, and do a great job of portraying their characters’ romantic relationship, even if it does feel a bit rushed and underdeveloped. Tatum, in particular, is just so special. The way he moves is already so mesmerizing, and on top of that, he manages to connect wholeheartedly with anyone he’s dancing with. The contrast between him and the other male dancers is easily felt. Their dancing is more about perfection, while he dances with passion and fire.

The choreography in Magic Mike’s Last Dance is the best of the three, and every moment we get to see Tatum dance is just magic (pardon the pun). After the movie was over, my husband even said he wished there were more scenes of Tatum dancing. It’s clear that we’re all just enamoured with Mike, since Max is so rejuvenated from her experience with him that she brings him with her to London and wants him to direct his own show. More importantly, Mike is a tremendous partner to Max. He doesn’t seek to dominate her and doesn’t get flustered about her money and status. He’s self-assured and confident in his own skin, as well as what he can bring to the relationship. He is everything her husband is not.

The movie isn’t aiming to be some manifesto about female empowerment, and those who think so will come away from it feeling that the themes are a tad contrived. Its focus, much like Bridgerton, is on female pleasure. This movie is built for the female gaze. So much of the film focuses on the women’s reactions when they see the men performing or when they get a lap dance. We’re meant to see ourselves reflected in the sheer ecstasy these women exude, cheered on to embrace whatever we seek/desire.

Soderbergh has a whole running commentary on humanity’s relationship with dance intersperse throughout the film, almost like an anthropological study. Why are we so fascinated with dance? Dance is about entertainment, but it’s also about connection and communication. When we dance, we communicate certain intentions/desires. Through dance, Mike is able to show Max who he is, and when she moves with him, she shows him who she is.

It’s kind of beautiful. But then again, love always is.

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