When Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike first erupted gloriously onto screens, reviews appeared that couldn’t help but be seen as stained by internalised misogyny. Whilst currently holding a 78% Rotten Tomatoes approval rating, some ‘rotten’ reviews described it as being a “guilty pleasure for sexually frustrated housewives” and that “on the scale of chick flicks, Magic Mike is a 10”.
Terminology rooted in misogyny like ‘chick flick’ and ‘housewives’ attempts to devalue Magic Mike, a film firmly engaged with the flaws with the American dream. Such terms are predominantly only used when attempting to trivialise films marketed towards queer and female audiences, so when Magic Mike XXL dropped to similarly misogynistic reviews, there was a certain irony to be had, as Gregory Jacobs’ playful sequel focuses on denouncing the repressive nature of toxic masculinity and celebrating its queer and female target audience.
The feature was posted on 8th February 2023. Full feature linked below.
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