Male order

For those of you who scan speedily to the bottom of reviews to see if a film is worth seeing — don’t worry; I always do it myself — I thought I would do you a favour and put the last paragraph first, as follows:

Is Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike worth seeing? Yes. But also ‘no’. But mainly ‘yes’. So it’s a ‘yes’ with some ‘no’ caveats. I can now see this isn’t so helpful. Best scan, I’m afraid. Still, at least you know I’m on your side.

Set in the world of male strippers, and written by the actor Channing Tatum, who has said it is loosely based on his stint as a stripper in Hollywood when he was 18, there is more to Magic Mike than meets the eye, even though, ladies, what does meet the eye isn’t exactly unpleasant. There are waxed abs, gyrating pelvises, pumping hips, ripped biceps and thrusting groins. Honestly, I’ve never had so many thrusting groins shoved in my face, and I’ve been round the block a few times. The thing is, though, it isn’t actually sexy, which may be Magic Mike’s point. The film starts as great fun but then goes awfully dark, perhaps like the life itself. Whether male or female, making money by allowing strangers to touch your bits and stuff dollar bills into your g-string is, says the film, degrading, and will eventually degrade your soul. It is not the route to self-respect. Magic Mike may even be the opposite of The Full Monty. It’s The Empty Monty, if you like, and still The Empty Monty, even if you don’t like. I may be on your side, but I’m in charge here and what I say goes.