Children should NOT go see Magic Mike XXL. Having children write scenes for the character Magic Mike, however, is a totally different – and far more adorable – story. While promoting the sequel Magic Mike XXL, Channing Tatum and Jimmy Fallon acted out scenes that the late-night TV host asked children to imagine, knowing only that they were about a character named Magic Mike. The results are more charming than you could have imagined. This is a must watch:
Naturally, to have a little fun with the material, the scenes written by the children could also be taken sexually, and Channing Tatum had fun working lewd innuendo into the scripted bits. You can’t ask Magic Mike to pump up your broken bicycle tire without having Tatum work the imaginary prop for reactions. And listen to the ladies (and probably some men) in the audience, catcalling! There’s a reason the opening of this Magic Mike XXL clip focuses on male strippers in a tool shed, working with hardware. In the realm of Magic Mike, everything is a prop that can be worked into the act.
This is a great bit, a very clever way to have Channing Tatum playfully promote Magic Mike XXL while also having fun at the series’ expense. But it’s also a terrific note about how the future of the Mike series is limitless. Because really, there are only so many places that a storyline about male strippers can go. But if you were to hand the baton to kids, and grant Mike (Tatum) actual magic powers, then adventures involving aliens and broken bicycles await.
In Magic Mike XXL, the boys from the original, hit movie take their show on the road, leaving the confines of Tampa and driving to Myrtle Beach for an annual strippers convention. Along the way, the guys evaluate their futures as exotic male dancers, and figure that if they are going to bring this dream-life scenario to a close, they are going to go out big. And they are going to go out dancing. Steven Soderbergh didn’t return to direct, but Tatum is surrounded by the familiar faces of Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodriguez and Gabriel Iglesias. But who’s looking at their faces, right? Magic Mike opens in theaters on July 1. Are you going?
