Yeah. I’m going there, click bait headline and all. Ahem.
Fluff has its place.
Went in with mixed expectations and came out pleasantly surprised by Magic Mike XXL. Unlike its IMO over-praised predecessor, MMXXL got what a movie about male strippers was supposed to be: fun.
For all the eye candy, basking in Matthew McConaughey working at the top of his game, Magic Mike left me kinda cold. MM was this voyeuristic look into life that Hollywood so loves to frame as ‘different’ and ‘alternative.’ Only way I can describe it was that, it tried to balance the cheesy dancing with ‘real life’ spun as the ‘seedy underbelly’ of a world – gasp! – in which not everyone works a desk, M-F 9-5, almost shot threw a lens of poverty tourism. It wasn’t seedy, it wasn’t different or fringe; this one of a million ways people work and live and are .. and I’ll stop before you worry about my issues. Here, watch Screen Junkies’ Honest Trailer. Ahem.
Magic Mike XXL shrugs all that faux serious navel-gazing, instead opting for a funny buddy road trip flick. And it worked, lazy summer fluffy fun and entertainment.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axFphJzTg7M
Now, what can a money-grubbing Hollywood sequel teach you about business:
Know what you are. Whether it’s attractive dancers or the best grilled cheese in town, own it be it, work it. Do what you do, do it well. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Don’t pretend to be what you’re not. There were times they reached a little too hard and it felt contrived and forced. You’re not all things to all people, so stop trying. If it’s you, really you then it’s so much better than anything anyone else would put out there.
Go with what works. The dancing, the bromance, the slapstick – that’s what I found entertaining the first time, worked again for round two.
Take Risks. If what’s working is only working well enough, then you take a chance and mix it up. All you’ve risked was ‘failure,’ which wasn’t working anyway.
Enjoy the ride. Things don’t always go to plan, which is why you need other options – never forgetting to make the most of what’s going on at the time.
People matter. Connections, human interaction, old friends – no one does it alone. You have to give to get and above all, remember it’s not about logos and profiles, not status or what others think. It’s those who are there for you, those who you are there for.
I could keep typing but you get the gist: this was one time I thought Hollywood improved on its original business model. Threw out what wasn’t working, and pardon the pun, stripped down to basics. YMMV so please, tell me what you think.