Starting with a rags-to-riches premise that is silly in the extreme, Magic Mike’s Last Dance finds our favourite stripper scoped up from his bartending gig to live the good life over in jolly old England. The pandemic has led to the failure of his furniture business and his chance meeting with Maxandra Mendoza (Salma Hayek) changes his life completely.
Mike (Channing Tatum) hooks up with Max as she rebounds from a messy separation from her mega-rich husband and she carts him away to London for a mysterious job. The employment turns out to be revitalising a theatre that said husband used to own but that now belongs to Max. The night of passion with Mike has ignited feelings inside her not known before.
Once the film arrives in the United Kingdom. it shifts to being a theatre piece with all the bureaucratic hurdles to success predictably in place. Some of the efforts at a resolution to the problems are very entertaining and the dancing cast is supreme in their skill sets. The budding romance between M & M underlings the occasion.
If this is indeed the last Magic Mike movie, the franchise goes out on a high note. From what is the most simplistic storyline in the series comes a film that is just good almost clean fun. It’s naughty when it needs to be and nice enough to leave a smile on your dial. This is fine escapism and should be experienced as such.
Rob Hudson
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