Magic Mike's Last Dance

Without the core group of guys who danced with Mike in the past two films, this slim-plotted threequel is just an excuse to watch Hayek and Tatum flirt (and lots of sexy dances, of course). Director Steven Soderbergh and writer Reid Carolin do manage to include a funny Zoom meeting between Mike and his best pals, Big Richie (Joe Manganiello), Tito (Adam Rodriguez), Ken (Matt Bomer), and Tarzan (Kevin Nash), who tell him not to be ashamed of "sex work" even after he explains that he's not a paid escort. The short scene underscores how their brotherhood of friendship was at the heart of the other movies and how much that brotherhood is missing from this installment. In the absence of the guys, Mike has a bunch of hired professional and street dancers, but it's difficult to recall even one of their names, not to mention anything about their private lives. The dancers don't have backstories like the Xquisite crew, because this script focuses solely on the relationship between Mike and Max.

The romance is uneven at first, a gender-bent Pretty Woman of sorts, with rich Max giving Mike a designer makeover to fit in with the classist snobs of England's cultural elite. But it's the show (however ridiculous the concept of a one-night-only tribute to the magic of sexy dancing is) that takes up the bulk of the story, with only a cursory, broad stroke at characterization. Maybe Soderbergh and Tatum feel like, at this point in the series, there's no need to develop anything other than more choreographed dance sequences. Don't worry, tried-and-true Magic Mike fans, Ginuwine's "Pony" is still in the movie, as are Tatum's signature thrusts and lifts. But as entertaining as it is to watch Tatum and Hayek dirty dance and fall in love, this one is even flimsier than XXL, and the series is definitely ready for its final bow.