Magic Mike WTF?

[Sheridan Passell]

Even though it had to settle for second place, male stripper movie Magic Mike still scored a very impressive $19.4 million on Friday. That's Channing Tatum's best opening day of the year so far ahead of The Vow ($15.3 million) and 21 Jump Street ($13.2 million), both of which had opening weekends north of $35 million and totals above $120 million. Even more surprising is that it marks the top opening day ever for director Steven Soderbergh ahead of all three star-studded Ocean's movies. There's wide speculation that due to its "event movie" status, Magic Mike will be incredibly front-loaded like the first Sex and the City, though that still puts the movie at around $41 million for the three-day frame.

Can someone explain to me why Magic Mike is a big deal, and why it is an 'event movie like Sex & The City'?

Just looks like a ho-hum drama-comedy about male strippers...

[dnwilliams]

I can't even explain why I want to see it, because it's a dramedy about male strippers.   

[Sheridan Passell]

I have no interest, all it would do is make me feel inadequate.

- GRAPHIC STORY WARNING -
I once met a male stripper through working on a TV show and they told me a fascinating story about how they put rubber bands on their nob to make them seem bigger, but they can only have it on for the length of the song itself, or it's dangerous. A colleague of his had kept it on for longer, severly restricting blood flow, and had ended up with a dead dick. It was completely limp all of the time, and he would often piss himself.

[dalmatianjaws]

Gross!

All the girls I know want to see this movie, hence the large opening.


*grin*

[dnwilliams]

large opening.

I just want to rack up my Soderberg movies, Haywire gave me a taste for his stuff, but I haven't seen the vast majority. Should probably check out Contagion and GFE before Mike, both of which I wanted to see anyhow, and by the time I get around to doing that I won't have to endure the embarrassment of seeing a male stripper movie in a cinema.

[dalmatianjaws]

He's remarkably eclectic. All his stuff is well crafted, even if the story/tone are not your bag.

Loved:
Schitzopolis

Liked:
Traffic
Ocean's 11
Full Frontal
Out of Sight
Erin Brockavich

Meh:
The Informant!
Sex Lies and Videotape
Solaris
Bubble

Disliked:
Ocean's 12
Ocean's 13

[dnwilliams]

Of those I've only seen the Ocean's movies and Out of Sight. Feel the same way about them. I'm not a fan of the original Solaris, so I don't know what that means for the remake, it may appeal.

[Sheridan Passell]

I found Contagion fascinating, loved the approach and tone. No one else agrees.

Traffic is good. Probably his best movie.

[dnwilliams]

[Sheridan Passell]

The world's gone mad.

[dalmatianjaws]

I found Contagion fascinating, loved the approach and tone. No one else agrees.

Some folks agree. One of my film peeps loves it and FilmCritHULK did too:
http://filmcrithulk.wordpress.com/2011/09/12/why-contagion-works/

[Sheridan Passell]

Hulk does a good job on those Contagion points. He says basically the same thing I did in a more eloquent way, that the subject matter is so terrifying that there's no need to over-dramatise it, or the relationships. The realism really works for this subject. This sort of pandemic has happened often in human history, but people don't like studying or writing about it. It happened last just 90 years ago and 130 million died, literally a quarter of the entire world caught the bug. Today we are better at curing (sometimes), but unfortunately will spread the disease a thousand times faster. It will happen again.

Good night everyone.

[dnwilliams]

The world's gone mad.

You mean you're not getting one? That action figure is going in my nephew's Christmas stocking.

[Sheridan Passell]

Not that's there's anything wrong with it, but a gift like that for a young nephew could point him in a certain direction.

[dnwilliams]

I know, he'll be a total player with that kind of aspirational figure during his formative years. I've thought this through.

[David Hawk]

....Haywire gave me a taste for his stuff, but I haven't seen the vast majority.

Really mate? Haywire is self indulgent shit. Terrible casting choice, the actions scenes were laughable. The film came across like some student had found the footage and cut it himself in what he thought was SS style. Over long foot chases that added nothing to the story, awful editing and music which sounded like it had been vomited up from Ocean's 11's waste bin.
Unfortunately for me, SS seems to be believing his own hype, every film since Traffic has been, ooh look i can do a heist movie, and a horror movie and an action movie, er, no you can't, stick to what you do best, whatever that is.

[Sheridan Passell]

Did SS steal your girlfriend or something? You've never been this upset about anything.

I haven't seen Haywire, but the user reviews on iTunes were unusually brutal.

[David Hawk]

Haha sorry mate, was having one of those days. Haywire is trash though, makes The Expendables look like The Godfather.

[dnwilliams]

I thought the music for Haywire was particularly good. Different strokes I guess.

[David Hawk]

I agree that the music is good, for me it just didn't fit the film, would work well for Hangover 3 though