Magic Mike 2012

Steven Snyder, TIME Magazine: Though Tatum's moves will put butts in the seats, it's his blues that brings a surprisingly dramatic twist to all that sweaty flesh. Read more

Kathleen Murphy, MSN Movies: Steven Soderbergh's funny, exhilarating, down-and-dirty celebration of a different breed of costumed superstud... Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: A smoothly distilled collaboration that balances Mr. Tatum's heat and charm - and ambitions that are as transparent as Mike's - with Mr. Soderbergh's cool, cinematic intelligence and ongoing preoccupations. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Tatum, whose talents have been the subject of debate, also makes Mike genuinely affecting, not to mention articulate within the bounds of a sketchy script. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: A movie in which the most nuanced performance is given by a body part has real problems. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: Magic Mike looks great, and Soderbergh's offhand approach to composition cuts through some of the cliches. Read more

Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic: Like any good strip tease, the film has a way of clouding your judgment. Though it may not have you throwing dollar bills at the screen, it is likely to leave a smile on your face. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: [Tatum is] just mesmerizing: confident, creative, acrobatic and, above all, seductive. `Cause that's the whole point. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: "Magic Mike" is so much better than it needs to be that it's sick. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: The dance numbers, choreographed by Allison Faulk, are inventive and athletic, but not really erotic; Soderbergh never lets you forget that, for these men, dancing is above all a job. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Purest corn, "Magic Mike" nonetheless has a human pulse and a sense of humor to go along with its willingness to entertain. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: What Soderbergh and producer/star Tatum are shooting for here is a portrait of a subculture, and that portrait crackles with energy. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Magic Mike has a conventional structure, yet a teasing question percolates beneath: If selling yourself is as much fun as this movie makes it look, what could be wrong with it? Read more

Eric D. Snider, Film.com: Does a better job of mixing Chippendales-style guilty pleasures with reality-based cautionary tales than you might expect. Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: Arguably the raunchiest, funniest and most enjoyably nonjudgmental American movie about selling sex since Boogie Nights, its obvious if considerably darker precursor. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: If filmmaker Soderbergh had paid as much attention to relationship dynamics as he does to dance number mechanics, this film would have gotten closer to living up to the magic in its name. Read more

Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News: For those who want to surrender to a good time, let these well-drawn fellas and Soderbergh's attention to detail entertain you. Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: McConaughey goes for broke, rolling and writhing on the stage while women grab at him and throw cash. I would've handed over my credit card. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: It's one of the year's best surprises, and so is its frequently underrated star. Read more

Richard Brody, New Yorker: Soderbergh has created a spicy yet lucid, surgingly high-energy yet smartly modernistic musical. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: If you're looking for a romance with 100 percent prime beefcake? Get your singles out and ready, ladies. "Magic Mike" is in the house. Read more

Ian Buckwalter, NPR: The film's portrait of self-delusion and gradual awakening makes for compelling viewing, even if it's eventually somewhat undercut by a pop-romance ending that seems undeservedly tidy. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Director Steven Soderbergh makes sure his movie about male strippers is packed with pecs. But there's plenty more beneath its well-oiled surface. Read more

Sara Stewart, New York Post: Steven Soderbergh's breezy dramedy serves up something for every taste. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: A weirdly guilty pleasure. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Magic Mike is an allegory and its appeal lies in part in its message. You don't have to be a stripper to recognize what the filmmakers are saying. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: "Magic Mike" starts as fun and grows steadily darker; Soderbergh and cast tell a realistic, vivid story. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: The first part of the film is raunchy fun, but Magic Mike slowly degenerates into a simplistic cautionary fable. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: I think "Magic Mike" is a fascinating film, one of [Soderbergh's] best in recent years. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: At the very least, it is exceptional and one of the best and most original pictures to come along in 2012. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: Half wish-fulfillment fantasy, half after-school special, Magic Mike is in many ways an unserious movie -- but like many of Soderbergh's slicker entertainments, it's not without its moments of substance. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: It's a lighthearted girls' night out movie and a funhouse mirror turned on American sexual attitudes and economic anxieties. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: It's guilty of some sleight-of-hand hokum, but in pulling the rug from under the norm, "Magic Mike" turns a trick. Read more

James Adams, Globe and Mail: Soderbergh's direction - he's also the cinematographer - is largely loose-limbed, the film enlivened with bravura moments, including a decidedly spacey, eye-twisting orgy scene near the end. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Riddled with show-biz cliches, stick-figure studs and re-heated ideas, Magic Mike thrusts its junk in your face despite having a very empty G-string. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: If Magic Mike doesn't quite attain the hedonistic stature of twin cautionary tales Boogie Nights and the campy Showgirls, it can't be faulted for wanting to satisfy on a deeper level. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Magic Mike may carry a big shtick, but it speaks softly in unexpected ways. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: An entertaining workplace comedy with a dark (and well-oiled) underbelly and some predictable romance to leaven the raunch and swagger. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: Tatum, Soderbergh and team appreciate the real reason audiences showed up, and the film provides just enough character and plot to validate the plentiful pecs and abundant buns that serve as its main attraction. Read more

Karina Longworth, Village Voice: The few moments wherein Magic Mike calls American institutions into question are undercut and overshadowed by the film's dated insistence on the dream of legitimacy. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: It's a nicely balanced blend of comedy, drama and athletic dancing that plies its trade with winking, unforced self-assurance. Read more