As we learn in a key scene in which Mike tries to get a business loan from a bank, his end game is to raise enough money to launch his own design-and-build furniture business. The arc here is clear – our hero must learn that there is more to life than easy money and casual sex – and Soderbergh does his best to convince us that the movie actually believes in it.
Consider, for example, how he shoots the Tampa sky (as usual, Soderbergh serves as his own cinematographer). Much of Magic Mike takes place at dawn, after a night of partying, and Soderbergh emphasizes the grayness of the early light. This isn’t exactly the Floridian paradise that Mike and his boys believe they’re living in. The one moment of sunny wonder – and it’s a stunner – is a beach stroll shared by Mike and Brooke in which the sun glistens off the water, delicately reflecting onto their skin. (It’s as if Soderbergh has turned the sun into a natural disco ball.) It’s telling that Brooke, who represents the right path, gets this single scene of clean beauty…
Read the rest of the review at Larsen on Film.
