‘MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE’ Review: Steven Soderbergh Reinvents What A Threequel Can Be

Courtney Howard // Film Critic

MAGIG MIKE’S LAST DANCE

Rated R, 1 hours 52 minutes

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

Starring: Salma Hayek Pinault, Channing Tatum, Jemelia George, Ayub Khan Din, Alan Cox, Suzanne Bertish

Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh has delivered something special and intelligently innovative with each iteration of his MAGIC MIKE films. The first chapter functioned as our gateway into a fantasy world where muscular men writhed and wiggled on stage for throngs of screaming women in the audience. MAGIC MIKE XXL, its sex-positive sequel, showed Mike and his Kings of Tampa troupe hanging out and hitting the road on their way to their last hurrah. Yet, rather than return to any repeated beats, the auteur and screenwriter Reid Carolin make MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE a love letter not only to their stalwart star Channing Tatum, but also to empowerment in all its beautiful forms, whether they be feminine, creative or artistic. It’s a sexy, revelatory reinvention of the series.

Mike Lane’s (Tatum) furniture business has gone bust, causing him to feel inadequate and retreat from the world, picking up gigs bartending in Florida. He runs into millionaire Maxandra Mendoza (Salma Hayek Pinault), who’s feeling equally unmoored and lonely following a split from her controlling media mogul hubby Roger (Alan Cox). Hearing that Mike used to be a stripper, she decides to get her sexy mojo back and hires him for a dance. And what a miracle it turns out to be for both as it awakens her sexual agency and creative drive. She convinces him to come to London to relaunch and revive a stuffy old British play as an empowering Magic Mike-style showcase at the historic theater she’s gained in her divorce. At first reluctant, he eventually agrees as both parties are desperate for a second chapter in their lives. But just as they’re getting their grooves back, detrimental obstacles appear, jeopardizing their artistic efforts and budding romantic relationship.

There’s more of a straight-forward narrative and deeper meta subtext in this third film than in the previous ones. Mike and Maxandra’s internal and external struggles are given equal weight. Conflicts arise organically and are wrapped up with a sprinkling of romance and heartrending movie magic, from the troubles the show experiences to the couple’s individual, interpersonal problems. The makeover scene frequently deployed in romcoms has a healthy sense of humor and doesn’t belabor its points. At one point, Soderbergh dips back into his bag of tricks, gifting us with an effervescent OCEAN’S ELEVEN-style heist vignette involving the new dancers on a bus seducing a bureaucratic official.

Narration by Maxandra’s adopted, droll daughter Zadie (Jemelia George in a role that seems inspired by ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS’ sarcastic, surly daughter Saffy) is interwoven throughout. It serves as a necessary tool, but also emphasizes the franchise’s overarching themes dealing with artistic integrity, sexual liberation and the sweet sentiment that dance brings communities together, expressing what words cannot for the benefit of healing and pleasure. Dancers’ (who are fittingly from the MAGIC MIKE LIVE show) personalities are shown through their specific styles of dance in the humorous and delightful audition montage that features the revival’s casting director Renata (Suzanne Bertish) getting into the action. The act one private dance number where Mike uses every bit of the space, as well as Maxandra’s wardrobe, evokes a vibrant, vivacious poeticism through both the actor and the camera’s choreography. Later, that heartening connection is made once again in Mike’s rain-soaked dance, rendered more intimate and immediate through editor Mary Ann Bernard’s splicing of past and present.

Tatum and Hayek Pinault’s chemistry ignites the screen with their scorching heat. It doesn’t hurt that each are individually given their Movie Moments to look hot. Tatum finds new colors and depth to play in his character, tapping into his creative anxieties and artistic drive. Hayek Pinault delivers a performance that’s vulnerable, universally relatable and fiercely feminist. The color fuchsia, which she sports a few times, looks like it was specifically created by the gods exclusively for her. Ayub Khan Din, who plays Maxandra’s acerbic butler/ right-hand confidante Victor, is a standout in the supporting cast, virtually stealing the show with his magnetic presence, sharp wardrobe and dry British quips.

For as much as this is a farewell  – temporary or not – from Soderbergh, Carolin and Tatum to their pop culture phenomenon, it’s also a stirring personal tribute to their collaboration. Throughout the years, they’ve been able to bring out the best in each other artistically – to think bigger, bolder and better.

Grade: A-

MAGIG MIKE’S LAST DANCE opens in theaters on February 10.