How Magic Mike 3 pays tribute to Channing Tatum's 'Pony' dance from the original
Warning: This article contains spoilers about Magic Mike's Last Dance.
Smart movie franchises have a signature sound — an aural trigger that instantly brings you into the universe. For Star Wars, it's Darth Vader's masked, mechanized rasp. For Jaws, it's two ominous notes, played over and over. And for Magic Mike, it's the squelchy synth bass of Ginuwine's "Pony."
But does Magic Mike's Last Dance (in theaters now) supply it? Almost off-handedly, the new sequel assembles its fresh cast of male dancers on the stage of a London theater to strut their way through the number. But it's only partially included, not the climax of the movie (or even a major moment), and Channing Tatum isn't dancing in it.
Everett Collection
Before you start wailing, remember that Magic Mike's Last Dance is a movie directed by Steven Soderbergh, the man who delivered an Oscar telecast with no movie clips in it. He's already won his awards and has nothing left to prove; his recent films have a shaggy, improvised quality that's endearing.
Soderbergh also serves as his own cinematographer (under the alias Peter Andrews), and is a brilliant hands-on editor, so the new installment of Magic Mike does have many tactile pleasures, notably its bookends. First comes an extended private lap dance — in front of Miami's inky clouds — during which Tatum's Mike seduces Salma Hayek Pinault's Maxandra, a wealthy but sad near-divorcée. Then, at film's end, comes an extended duet with Tatum and esteemed ballerina Kylie Shea, a knockout sequence featuring torrents of on-stage rain.
All in all, the movie's dance content is robust, and fans needn't worry. But true to Soderbergh's perverse streak, he's more interested in breaking new ground. Or is it grind?
Warner Bros. Pictures
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