First Look: Magic Mike (Red Band Trailer)

This is going to be the highest grossing movie of all time, right?

Magic Mike: Is There More To Channing Tatum Than His Abs?

The much-anticipated trailer for Magic Mike debuted yesterday. Let me be more specific: I was highly anticipating it. When I heard the pitch: "Steven Soderbergh directs a semi-autobiographical story of Channing Tatum's life as a stripper," I was sold. Not because of Tatum's abs, but because of a previous Soderburgh film, The Girlfriend Experience. an art house tale of a highly-paid escort. I thought it shed some light and created some perspective on the sex work industry.

I should have lowered my expectations. Magic Mike, from what I ascertained from the trailer, appears to be a comedy, perhaps even a bro-centric romantic comedy. Although Channing Tatum did surprise me with his comedy chops in 21 Jump Street, it looks like he's back to his Step Up 2 Tha Streets persona. His dream is to be a furniture designer? That seems more like the plot of a Duplass brothers Mumblecore flick than a mainstream release.

In movies and film, women who are strippers are often depicted as pathetic, weak, or damaged. And often their faces are not even shown. Heaven forbid any stripper is seen as enjoying her job; that would be incongruent with a likeable protagonist. Not only is Mike's stripping career somewhat comical, he enjoys it for "the women." In most scenarios, the male customers of a female stripper are lecherous and something to be feared, whereas Mike seems to hold the power among his adoring female fans.