Film Reviews: New Releases for Feb. 10 | Buzz Blog

Thursday, February 9, 2023

Film Reviews: New Releases for Feb. 10

Magic Mike's Last Dance, Your Place or Mine, Somebody I Used to Know

Posted By on February 9, 2023, 6:00 PM

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click to enlarge Salma Hayek Pinault and Channing Tatum in Magic Mike's Last Dance - WARNER BROS. PICTURES
  • Warner Bros. Pictures
  • Salma Hayek Pinault and Channing Tatum in Magic Mike's Last Dance
Magic Mike’s Last Dance **1/2
Each of the previous installments in the Magic Mike franchise had its own unique vibe—2012’s original as a look at Great Recession-era economic realities, and 2015’s Magic Mike XXL as a hang-out road picture—so it’s no surprise to see this latest entry taking another new turn. It’s just kind of a bummer to see that turn amount to nothing more than “dancing sure can be hot, right?” Mike Lane (Channing Tatum) is now working as an event bartender after the failure of his furniture business, but he connects with Max Mendoza (Salma Hayek Pinault), a wealthy soon-to-be-divorcée who invites him back to London for a mysterious business opportunity. The series’ regular writer Reid Carolin packs the narrative with plenty of business, from the squabbles between Max and her ex, to the narration provided by Max’s daughter Zadie (Jemelia George), to the amusing interactions between Mike and Max’s butler (Ayub Khan Din). And Steven Soderbergh returns to the director’s chair to provide sexy punch to the centerpiece dance numbers, particularly Mike and Max’s first evening together. It just feels like everyone involved is searching for a point to it all, absent the dynamic between Mike and his buddies/colleagues (who are limited to a Zoom call cameo). Throwing Mike into the world of hoity-toity London society gives Tatum a chance for some fun reactions, and maybe we are all mostly here to see hot guys dance hotly. This time around, that feels like not quite enough to hang a movie on. Available Feb. 10 in theaters. (R)

Somebody I Used to Know ***
It’s not usually a good sign when a movie openly name-checks another movie to which its plot is heavily indebted, but the creative/real-life team of co-writer/director Dave Franco and co-writer/star Alison Brie concoct something with its own gentle appeal. Brie plays Ally Brenner, a moderately successful TV reality-series producer who finds herself in an existential crisis when her show is cancelled. Returning to her Washington state hometown to decompress, she reconnects with her old flame Sean (Jay Ellis)—initially unaware that Sean is getting married that very week to musician Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons). Cassidy drops a reference to My Best Friend’s Wedding early on, and indeed for a while it looks like the entire premise will be based on Ally and Cassidy cat-fighting one another over Sean. But eventually Brie and Franco hone in more on the idea of how easy it is to lose your authentic self, whether through compromising your goals or sacrificing those goals for a relationship. And Brie continues to be a uniquely winning screen presence, able to convey a distinctive mix of insecurity and intelligence. The jokes could stand to be more fine-tuned, and the supporting cast doesn’t offer quite enough support (with the exception of Brie’s Community classmate/castmate Danny Pudi). What remains is a satisfying character study about learning what to do when you realize you’ve taken a wrong turn. Available Feb. 10 via Amazon Prime Video. (R)

Your Place or Mine **
I suppose if you’re the kind of person who found Sleepless in Seattle wistfully romantic, you’ll be on board with the idea of a rom-com where the two leads aren’t in the same room for more than five minutes of screen time; personally, not a fan. Writer/director Aline Brosh McKenna (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) crafts the tale of Debbie (Reese Witherspoon) and Jack (Ashton Kutcher), whose one-night hookup in 2003 turns into a 20-year cross-country platonic best-friendship. When divorced single mom Debbie needs to complete an accounting course in Jack’s home turf of New York, Jack agrees to come out to Los Angeles to watch Debbie’s tween son Jack (Wesley Kimmel), and the two spend a week respectively re-examining their lives. McKenna gets most of her zing from the fun performances by the obligatory confidant supporting characters (Zoé Chao, Tig Notaro and Steve Zahn), and the bouncy, glossy, glamorous-living-spaces vibe of a Nancy Meyers joint. But the parallel track of the two plot-lines—Debbie learning to take risks, Jack learning About a Boy lessons in being a responsible grown-up through surrogate fathering—is just too damned parallel, despite a lengthy early montage of the two on the phone together that has to do a lot of the “no really, they have chemistry” heavy lifting. The entire point of the romantic-comedy genre is viewers learning in real time that the characters are meant for each other, and it’s hard to do that when the characters are never with each other. Available Feb. 10 via Netflix. (PG-13)

About The Author

Scott Renshaw

Scott Renshaw

Bio:
Scott Renshaw has been a City Weekly staff member since 1999, including assuming the role of primary film critic in 2001 and Arts & Entertainment Editor in 2003. Scott has covered the Sundance Film Festival for 25 years, and provided coverage of local arts including theater, pop-culture conventions, comedy, literature,... more

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