strip and show me the meat! The secret substance of ‘Magic Mike’s last dance’

by Ava Dettling Assistant Arts Editor

The time has come: “Magic” Mike Lane is hanging up his G-string and packing away his body oils. No longer will he grind and flex — or so he says. In Steven Soderbergh’s latest installment, “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” (2023), Soderbergh follows Mike (Channing Tatum) as he is drawn to the stage for his final striptease. What can I say? The man just can’t seem to keep his hips from gyrating.

“Last Dance” is the third and final chapter in the “Magic Mike” (2012–23) trilogy. Each film in the series has examined the intersections between sex, artistry and, most importantly, getting paid for it. More than 10 years ago, Soderbergh graced audiences with the first installment, “Magic Mike” (2012), which follows Mike and his entourage as they navigate the seedy underbelly of the Florida stripping scene. A few years later, in “Magic Mike XXL” (2015), directed by Gregory Jacobs, Mike has quit stripping and started his own furniture business. Since his business isn’t going that well, he realizes that one final tease could make him a pretty penny. That wouldn’t be the last you see of Mike, though. He takes the stage one last time in “Last Dance,” a story that examines the dynamics between artist and patron and the stickiness when sex is involved.

The story begins with Mike, who has resorted to bartending at fancy charity events after losing his furniture business. At one of these events, he meets Max (Salma Hayek Pinault), an unhappy socialite looking to get her mind off her impending divorce. Learning of Mike’s skills from one of the other socialites, she implores him for one last dance. After a brief interval of bashful refusal, he gives her a lap dance nothing short of mind-blowing — with similarly mind-blowing sex afterward. This experience was so life-changing for Max that she decides to bring him back to London with her in exchange for $60,000, but sex is strictly off the table. Instead, she wants to introduce his glistening muscles to London’s historical theater district in the West End. Together, they contrive a sexed-up adaptation of a stiff period drama, “Isabel Ascendant.”

“This is not a strip show,” Max explains; it’s about giving women “whatever [they want], whenever [they want].”

However, what Max wants is continuously in flux throughout the film. The chemistry between the two is striking at the beginning, but soon the film seems to lose focus of the couple. The bulk of the story surrounds the various obstacles the two must overcome to put on the show. Her constant mood swings and emotional upheavals add the only action between them for much of the story. Compared to Mike’s steady good humor, she provides needed refreshment to these flat scenes. The artist-patron relationship between them could raise interesting questions about the ethics of mixing economic and sexual transactions. Yet, the film seems more concerned with Tatum writhing about on the floor.

The dancing, however, is not to be overlooked. The numbers, choreographed by Alison Faulk and Luke Broadlick, bring the same tenacity from the previous films but with more politeness characteristic of the British environment (meaning they’ll ask nicely before they grind on you). While the dancers move with intelligence and grace, there is a certain savagery lurking underneath, threatening release at any moment. Not only do the dancers access a primal intensity, but the audience does as well. Mike said it best: “Do you want to find out how fast a group of sweet, nurturing moms can make you go running, cowering into a dark corner wishing you were never born? I promise you … it can happen just like that.”

Soderbergh is no stranger to matters of the heart, sex and all the messiness that comes with it. “Last Dance” adopts the same flashy and highly stylized production quality of Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s” trilogy (2001–07). But it undoubtedly has roots in Soderbergh’s earliest, and perhaps most minimalistic of works, “Sex, Lies, and Videotape” (1989).

MacDowell) who is unhappy in her marriage, until she meets Graham (James Spader), an unassuming young man with a unique fetish. He likes to interview women and ask them about their sexual experiences and fantasies. It is a film centered around women’s relationship with sex and what they do or do not want from it. Just a few decades later, Soderbergh created “Last Dance,” following similar themes of female empowerment and sexual agency (but with more shirtless men).

The flimsy storytelling is supported by the performances of Tatum and Hayek Pinault and the alarmingly enticing set design — which in turn is supported by the film’s $45 million budget. Tatum, who actually was a male stripper in his youth, brings an earnest authenticity to his performance. He is a stripper with a heart of gold, reminiscent of lovable icons like Julia Roberts in “Pretty Woman” (1990). However, his affability perhaps goes too far, removing any complexity from his character. This gives the ferocious but

Saba S. and Jack Clohisy Queeries

Queer icons Ice Spice, Miley Cyrus and SZA top the charts

Bronx, N.Y. native Ice Spice broke onto the scene over the past few months with viral hits “Munch (Feelin’ U)” (2022), “In Ha Mood” (2023) and “Bikini Bottom” (2023). Most recently, she was recruited for the PinkPantheress remix, “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” (2023). The latter reached a new peak of No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, so it’s time to dive into Gen Z’s latest queer icon and others dominating the charts right now.

Born Jan. 1, 2000, Ice Spice was evidently destined for greatness. “How can I lose if I’m already chose?” she raps to open “Bikini Bottom.” In a recent interview with radio personality Ebro Darden, Ice Spice noted she was attracted to “good boys” and paused before following it up with “and girls.” Now a certified queer icon, Ice Spice isn’t the only queer legend topping the charts right now. The entire top 3 on the Hot 100 this week are held by queer women icons: Miley Cyrus, No. 1 with “Flowers” (2023), and SZA, No. 2 with “Kill Bill” (2022). With her first top 5 hit, Ice Spice is cementing herself as one of this generation’s burgeoning stars in pop culture, and there is much to look forward to from the newbie.

On Cyrus’ end, she earns her sixth week at No. 1 with her break-up-turnedself-love anthem “Flowers.” Openly queer since the mid-2010s, Cyrus currently holds the lead for the longest-running No. 1 of the year on the Hot 100, much to the celebration of the gays. SZA joins in on the celebration with her seventh week at No. 2. She revealed last year in a tweet that she identifies as queer, and she celebrates her 10th week at No. 1 with her latest album “SOS” (2022) — the longest-running female No. 1 album in nearly a decade.

This is a new age of queer music, and the increase in queer visibility for sexual and gender minorities regarding representation is more positive in 2023 than ever before. Songs such as Hayley Kiyoko’s “Girls Like Girls” (2015), Kehlani’s “Honey” (2017) and girl in red’s “i wanna be your girlfriend” (2017) have paved the way for this sapphic uprising in pop culture and have been a form of emotional support for young girls during a time when the depiction of queer relationships was taboo.

Coincidentally, the same man who revolutionized the indie film market of the ’90s also made some of the most commercially successful film franchises in Hollywood. Yet, these films share markedly similar themes. “Sex, Lies, and Videotape” follows a woman (Andie hopelessly romantic Hayek Pinault not much to work with. “Last Dance” is well-funded enough to entertain but falls short of engaging. Much like the tame quality of the dance numbers, it is too tightly choreographed, afraid to take one step out of line.

These artists have and actively are dismantling stereotypes and feelings of repression among queer youth and have created a safe space in mainstream music for queer women to leave their personal legacies behind. Now, less than 10 years later, with Ice Spice, Miley Cyrus and SZA on top of the charts, queer voices are being uplifted more than ever before. This openness and authenticity in media need to remain preserved, and the stories of these artists and their work need to be heard. This positive representation in queer music is breaking the mold and allowing those who feel like they are different from the conventional mold to find self-acceptance and listen to top hits and good music while doing it.

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