This might come as a shock to the masses wanting to see this film, but ‘Magic Mike’ is more than just a movie about male strippers.  Much like the way ‘Brokeback Mountain’ was labelled as ‘that gay cowboy movie’, the generic description that has followed this movie since it was first announced unfortunately undermines the quality this movie holds, as underneath all the chiselled abs and pert rear nudity there’s a story of ambition, loyalty and self-realization to be told.

Those wanting to see this purely for the aesthetics of Channing Tatum and co. thrusting their enviable figures may end up being slightly disappointed as the stripping scenes are few and far between, not that they aren’t enjoyable though.  Indeed the first half of ‘Magic Mike’ is quite funny, there are some genuinely witty lines peppered throughout and the strip sequences are mostly played for laughs, but not without exuding plenty of energy and raw sexuality.  As the film progresses though we see just how mundane and business-centered the profession really is and we learn that for Magic Mike (Tatum) this is merely what he does and not a definition of who he is as he has dreams of starting up his own custom furniture business, and stripping was the best way to financially set himself up.  With the introduction of young builder Adam (Alex Pettyfer), Mike believes he’s found someone who he can pass the torch on to, teaching him the ways of this business and assisting him in a way that he could never of found in other careers, and it’s here that the film starts to delve deeper and darker into human behaviour and the pitfalls of excessive living.

As the titular ‘Magic Mike’ Channing Tatum does an admirable job in the acting stakes, helped by his laidback, accessible persona, but it’s the dance-come-strip sequences where his true talents lie leaving his co-stars far behind.  Pettyfer is pleasing to the eye but sadly doesn’t have much else to offer, and the stripping crew of Matt Bomer, Alex Rodriguez and the hulking Joe Maganiello (TV’s ‘True Blood’) seem to suffer from too many cooks in the kitchen as outside of their performance segments they don’t contribute much else, though Maganiello as the appropriately named Big Dick Richie is involved in one gag early in the film that certainly leaves an impression.  But the true star of this saga is Matthew McConaughey.  At 42 the actor is in incredible shape and the slight self-deprecation in his performance helps make the character of Dallas one of the best things he’s ever done.  We can only hope that come Oscar season he’s remembered, and given the attire he’s decked out for the duration of the film, that shouldn’t be too hard.