Three years after leaving the stripping business at the Kings of Tampa, Mike starts his own successful custom furniture business. But when he crosses paths with his former dance partners on their way to Myrtle Beach, he decides to slip back into the role of Magic Mike. And so starts a journey that ends in one last red-hot strip show…

Picture gallery

Magic Mike XXL is just like its lead character: kind of dumb, a bit awkward, but conscious of its assets and willing to gamble on them to seduce its audience. This sequel to Steven Soderbergh’s movie is directed by Gregory Jacobs, his producer and favorite collaborator, who abandons all dramatic and psychological depth for a cheap thrill. A few meager dialogues set up a plot that is no more than pretext for one more sex-loaded number, with a high-end female entourage of cameos by Andie MacDowell, Amber Heard, Jada Pinkett Smith and Elizabeth Banks. Magic Mike XXL is most clever in this area: by reversing the sexes, objectifying men and giving the juicy roles to women as emancipated characters with power, the sequel gains in modernity what it loses in humanity. The result is a pure summer flick, which is at least intelligent enough to put on a really hot show.