The Full Monty vs Magic Mike

[AdrianGrody69 0]

Which is a more essential view of male strip tease? The Full Monty has all sorts of "feminist" ideas about men deserving dignity when if they don't have jobs. Magic Mike has...gorgeous hunks and drama between bros? I need to rewatch it it seems, or maybe nothing actually happened in that movie?

[Philly Cheesesteak 92]

Magic Mike, as a film series, is sort of a strange... "dudebro" feminist story. It has all the trappings of a dudebro comedy, but with an upbeat and surprisingly insightful commentary on sex positivity. It's a film that understands, like few comedies of its ilk do, that women have sex drives too. There's a scene in the second movie where one of the dancers sneers at this guy with a "sexy vampire" act and all the women digging it, asking (and I'm paraphrasing from memory here),

 

"Why do they like that shit?"

 

This prompts another to respond, "Because they just do."

 

One of the major "gotcha" criticisms of stuff like Twilight or True Blood has always been this iffy undercurrent of "Ha! Look at these women, young, middle-aged or old oggling this pandered male beefcake bullshit! Ha!" Magic Mike retorts with, "So? What's the problem with that? Everyone needs a sexual outlet."

 

So, yeah, I absolutely endorse the idea of a vs. episode between these two. One's more sombre, the other upbeat. One deals with working class struggles, the other is sort of fairly apolitical in that area. Both are about male and female sexuality and gender roles, but in their own unique ways.

 

I remember someone once telling me The Full Monty was a chick flick for guys. Honestly, it's perfectly true.

[ManishMathur 33]

MMXXL is miles better than the first one