Manly Musings: Shakir Rashaan on 'Magic Mike XXL'
Welcome back to my blog corner, Manly Musings! I'm Shakir Rashaan (of course, no one else can be me, LOL), and I'm a male erotic romance and mystery author for Strebor Books/Simon & Schuster.
Join me every other Friday as I give you a MANLY perspective on some of the hottest shows and movies that are upcoming or already out!
With this edition, I decided to give you a MAN's perspective on the testosterone guilty pleasure of the summer, Magic Mike XXL!
Let's begin, shall we?
OK, first, let's get the pleasantries out of the way in the form of what the sequel is about:
It's been three years since Mike Lane's (Channing Tatum) retirement from stripping, but the former dancer misses the excitement and feeling of being on stage. Most of all, though, he misses the best friends that he ever had, the crew known as the Kings of Tampa. Opportunity comes knocking when the guys look him up as they travel to Myrtle Beach, S.C., for a stripper convention. With the promise of outrageous fun, a reinvigorated Mike can't resist the chance to jump in and take it all off again.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's really get to it, OK?
As the description suggests, Mike is retired and running his custom-built furniture business, trying to forget his time as Magic Mike. The Kings come calling, and he tries to stay on the path he's set himself on, but as fate would have it, he can't resist the lure of the stage.
The scene that everyone has seen from the trailers — Mike in the workshop with a welding torch trying to get work done, when his song comes on — is the watershed moment that the ladies are waiting for. (The man has moves; I ain't hating.) It puts Mike on the path to get with his crew as they head to the convention.
Channing Tatum does not disappoint, and Joe Manganiello as — Big ahem Richie — has some sexy moments as always, and even Matt Bomer does his thing, complete with the Southern drawl and charming the pants off of women of a certain age, but the newcomers (Stephen "tWitch" Boss and Donald Glover on the male side, and Jada Pinkett-Smith on the female side) help bring some refreshing energy, and some more of the eye candy and sex appeal that the franchise is known for.
In fact, the dancing that Boss and Tatum do together as mirror images of each other on stage? Ladies, you need to go see the movie for that alone is all I can say at the current moment.
Fellas, this is the movie you need to take your significant other to, period. Thank me, later, OK? Seriously!
All in all, Magic Mike XXL is definitely the movie to watch for the holiday weekend, with some eye candy and routines and sexiness for everyone. It's the type of movie that is needed for the summer heat, and it definitely delivers the heat!
Shakir Rashaan lives in suburban Atlanta with his wife and two children. His catalog includes the Nubian Underworld series and the upcoming Kink, P.I. Series. He is also developing projects under the pen name P.K. Rashaan. You can see more of him at www.ShakirRashaan.com or you can connect with him on Facebook and Twitter (@shakirrashaan).