Looks like this weekend will go down in the books as one of pleasant surprises, both financially and quality-wise. Whether that will translate into Oscar nominations may happen for at least one of them…
Steven Soderbergh and Channing Tatum take us into the world of male strippers in Magic Mike, about a seasoned dancer who takes a rookie under his wing and shows him the ropes. Based on the star’s own beginnings as a club dancer, critics have been very positive on the film, including our own Joey Magidson, who praised its writing, performances and direction from Soderbergh. Rather than being a bubbly dance flick aimed squarely at female audiences, Joey instead relayed back an offbeat and surprisingly in-depth character study of men in an odd profession. Nevertheless, the presence of handsome men taking their clothes off will certainly draw in one kind of audience and turn off another, no matter how different the actual film is. Online and Friday ticket sales were strong and should give the film a good $30-35 million haul. The critical acclaim, however, raises even more intriguing possibilities for its awards prospects. Too racy for the Academy, you say? Tell that to The Full Monty. I would not be surprised to see this among the Best Original Screenplay nominees next January. The performances are less of a certainty, and will probably require a focused campaign to give the well-received work of Matthew McConaughey, Channing Tatum or Alex Pettyfer a shot at an Academy Award nomination. My opinion is that good-looking men already have a hell of a time getting noticed by the Academy when they don’t draw attention to how attractive they are, so I am not betting on any of them any time soon, but that could change… Read more on Weekend Openings (June 29-July 1)…
Tags: Beasts of the Southern Wild, Channing Tatum, Magic Mike, Matthew McConaughey, Oscar hopefuls, People Like Us, Quvenzhané Wallis, Sarah Polley, Seth MacFarlane, Steven Soderbergh, Take This Waltz, Ted, Tyler Perry, Weekend Openings
