Dancing your troubles away

"Magic Mike XXL's" stars begin one of their routines. Photo courtesy Warner Bros.

Nothing happens in “Magic Mike XXL.” I mean, there's the traces of a story that leads to a conclusion, but the stakes are almost nonexistent and the adversity the characters face are minimal. It's a funky little film, a celebration of everything the original “Magic Mike” rallied against.

Strangely enough, the sequel is better off for veering away from the trodden path, especially after losing the dangerous magnetism of Matthew McConaughey's Dallas. Replicating the original’s darkness without McConaughey would be a fool’s errand, so it made sense to take the action in a new direction and creating an audacious, silly, sexually charged, lovable romp with a just a hint of depth.

“Magic Mike XXL” is a road movie at heart, following the minor misadventures of the titular Mike (Channing Tatum) and a few of his old club friends (Joe Manganiello, Adam Rodriguez, Kevin Nash, Matt Bomer and Gabriel Iglesias). Tatum's buddies are on their own now – McConaughey's Dallas and Alex Pettyfer's Kid absconded to Macau – and amid a sojourn to a stripper convention in South Carolina for one last ride. (If that sounds familiar, the mantra is employed in another summer flick, “Furious 7.”) Tatum is intrigued by the idea and decides to join his comrades after a three-year stripping sabbatical because you can't take the dancer out of the man. On the road they go, reinventing the act McConaughey forced on them and finding out a little more about themselves while preparing for that last big performance before they go do … something else. Those details remain unclear and really don’t matter.

The group also meets friends both new and old along the way. Jada Pinkett Smith pops up as Tatum's former employer, lover and emcee; she’s joined by one-time “Community” star and current rapper Donald Glover and long-time New York Giant defensive end Michael Strahan, both of whom bust a few moves. There's a new, quasi-love interest for Tatum in Amber Heard's character, Zoe, and Andie MacDowell provides an overnight refuge, a large southern accent, and a rather unsatisfied libido. Oh, and Elizabeth Banks makes an appearance as part of the Summer of Banks.

Seriously, Elizabeth, you deserve a break.

“Magic Mike XXL” gets off to a slow and kind of frustrating start. The justification for inserting Tatum into the group’s proceedings is opaque at best and very much shoehorned; sure he still loves dancing, but he knows moving on was the right decision, and it doesn’t feel like he’d decide to take two steps back just because. There's also a missing level of complexity and darkness that made “Magic Mike” such a compelling film.

The tonal shift between the two films is jarring and difficult to account for, but the sequel really begins to take off once the characters hit the road and partake in their shenanigans. “Magic Mike XXL” has a thing plot that serves as an avenue to hop right into the delightful, wonderful and occasionally magical dance sequences and engage in some harmless ogling. (I may or may not have tossed 10 imaginary singles at the screen during Tatum's routine.) It’s sort of like a Bing Crosby/Bob Hope road movie, but with much less singing and a little less sexiness.

More than 70 years later and you can still feel the tension.

A good portion of the fun of “Magic Mike XXL” – and the movie is an utter joy – comes when watching the central dancers just mess around while traveling, reminiscing about the past and supporting one another in professional and intimate engagements. They’re a likable collection of people, the kind of guys who would make any party far more interesting without messing up the vibe.

In other words, “Magic Mike XXL” is a straight-up bro film, albeit one in which the characters are focused more on celebration than conquest. That’s due in part to a strong feminist underpinning (something along the lines of a feminist bro movie) in which the women are, more often than not, the ones in control, the characters engaging in the fun times normally associated with male behavior. At one point, MacDowell's character laments a life with only one lover as Nash waxes ruefully about wanting the exact opposite. It's a clever twist for a film otherwise engaged in goofy fun.

Any praise I have for “Magic Mike XXL” is coupled by acknowledgement that it is a lesser film than its progenitor. There’s little bite to be found in the sequel, no grittiness or roughness in this new version and a little less charisma without McConaughey (even though Tatum is a sweetheart). Still, there’s always a place for fun in film, especially when watching characters follow their bliss with such glee. As “Magic Mike XXL’s” final scene shows, there’s nothing more satisfying in life than winning your dream.

Review: Four out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: R

Run time: 115 minutes

Genre: Comedy

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Target audience: Very much a female-oriented film with a corresponding viewership, although guys with a little sexual leniency will like it.

Take the whole family?: Probably not for the kids, but your cool aunt will have a blast if you're kind enough to take her.

Theater or Netflix?: It's fun enough for a screening as long as it has a bar with it; this might be the perfect mimosa movie.

How much does the film miss Steven Soderbergh ?:  He's still on hand as a cinematographer and producer, but the film's tonal change is due in large part to his absence from the director's chair. There's a sense of heaviness missing from the sequel, a burden that brought out the best of Channing Tatum (he's still good, but not at the same level). Soderbergh is a rare director who can do crowd pleasing when needed alongside a satisfying edge.

Watch this as well?: Watching the original helps understand the motivations for this one, and “Magic Mike” is also a much, much better all around film than its sequel. Another interesting but less aesthetically mesmerizing option is “The Full Monty.”

Then again, it really depends on your taste.