Issue 20 | August 13,2012 | critic.co.nz

Film
I
am studying French, so was excited to see
a modern-day film interpretation of Guy de
Maupassant’s Bel Ami. However, from the
first close up of Robert Pattinson’s pouty lips I
knew sitting through the film would be torture,
and it was. This film is firm evidence that casting
Pattinson as the lead is the nail in a film’s coffin
these days.
Pattinson plays George, an impoverished
writer, who seeks a sense of belonging in the
Parisian bourgeoisie. His quest? To experience
wealth, prestige, and sensual pleasure, all of
which have eluded the impoverished George
thus far. Pattinson soon realises that life as a
bourgeois equates to jealousy and manipulation.
If you like shimmering well-oiled abs and
perfectly tanned man-buttocks, then
Magic Mike is the film for you. Magic Mike
is based loosely on Channing Tatum’s life as a
teenage stripper before he made it as an actor
in Hollywood.
Set in Florida, the movie follows 19-yearold
Adam (Alex Pettyfer), who happens to stumble
into a nightclub and meet a male stripper
known as “Magic Mike” (Channing Tatum). Magic
Mike is a pipe-dreaming entrepreneur, but
moonlights as a headliner in a male revue run
by Dallas (Matthew McConaughey). Mike takes
36
BEL AMI
Directors: Declan Donnellan & Nick Ormerod
MAGIC MIKE
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Given the complexity of the novel, I was
expecting to see interesting plot nuance and
the development of George’s character. But
Pattinson’s one-dimensional acting leaves no
opportunity for thematic development. Pattinson
struggles to produce any facial expressions other
than his apathetic vampire stare. That aside,
there are some feeble attempts to underscore
the separation of love from marriage and the
universal truth that money cannot buy happiness
via witty dialogue.
In his quest for social prestige, George
entertains several love affairs with wealthy
and powerful women. A cradle-snatcherish love
affair develops with the gorgeous Virginie (Uma
Adam to his strip club “Xquisite” and introduces
him to Dallas, who convinces him to fill in for one
of his dancers. Mike takes Adam under his wing
to teach him about dancing, stripping, and the
easy money that comes with it. Mike lives by the
motto, “Sex, money and women – what’s not
to like?” However, things turn out to be much
more complicated, and what starts as a one off
fill-in gig soon leads to Adam joining the strip
team and falling into a world of drugs and sex.
There isn’t a whole lot of storyline to hold
this movie up, but let’s face it, when Channing
Tatum is rollicking around half naked, who the
Film Editor | Sarah Baillie | film@critic.co.nz
Thurman), a wealthy newspaper owner’s wife.
The climax of their relationship is naturally the
awkward sex scene: George shouts, “You’re going
too fast, you’re going too fast” in a desperate bid
to curb Virginie’s dominance. But the stilted
acting during the love-making scene makes
what should have been an uplifting scene of
passion and reconciliation unbearable to watch.
If you want to drool over Robert Pattinson’s
eyelashes, go and see this film. Everyone else:
Stay far, far away. Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.
By Brittany Travers
hell is interested in subtle plots and underlying
themes? The dance numbers are well choreographed,
and if nothing else are quite enlightening
as to the cheesiness of the business.
The only let down in the entire movie was
the absence of any full frontal nudity. But what
can I say? Dance, song, and man candy — what
else could a 25-year-old woman want? Go and
see it, but leave your other half at home.
By Taryn Dryfhout