UPDATE 7/16: Congratulations to our winner of the Magic Mike Soundtrack—Keely!  Thank you everyone who swam by to join in on this eye-opening chat 😉  Hope to see you back real soon xoxo  Carlene Mermaid

SPOILER ALERT #1:  I would hate to spoil this movie for you–so go see it before you read this…what’s that?  Oh, you’ve already seen Magic Mike sixty times?  Yeah, I kind of thought you had that dazed look in your eye 😉

SPOILER ALERT #2:  The views expressed in this post are those of my “Sweet Sandy from Grease” movie-watching personality and not my “Black leather, bad girl Sandy” writing/reading side.

So.

Magic Mike.

Someday, when I’m all grown up, I hope to have the cajones to watch this movie without covering my eyes as if it was Freddy Kruger and his gyrating dance troupe on the big screen.  (How scary is that guy?  I still wimper at the rhyme, “One, two..”  That’s as far as I can go without crying!)  And blushing because I admit to peeking through my fingers…once or twice.  Freddy never made me blush, just vomit.  Channing though, he’s dreamy in a good way.  But no matter how intriguing it is to watch all that larger than life, ummm, stuff– I’m still thinking, “Guys, that’s your private business up there and should I really be having my own private moment, (okay, me and these other ninety women) with it??  No!  Okay, maybe.  But still, No.  Yes. No. Oh, the conflict!

So yes, one day, (I’m predicting this day will come on the DVD release date) I aspire to have that completely open-eyed ability because my aunt tells me there’s lots I missed.  But for now, I’d like to talk about what I couldn’t look away from–the underlying story.  At some point, the super sexy dancing scenes took the back seat and something deep and important, and sort of sad and intense, grabbed me by the heart.  It took a few minutes to put my finger on the familiar thrill but soon I realized, Magic Mike had a Less Than Zero feel to it for me.  I loved that movie.  Loved, loved, loved it.  And I think I sort of love Magic Mike now, too.  A movie I’ve only seen half of.  That says a lot for that half, don’t you think?

I know, I’m silly and maybe you don’t believe me with all that other stuff to appreciate, that I’d come away with a love for the story.  Actually, anyone who knows me probably isn’t surprised.  (Shirley Temples anyone?)  You’ve probably seen Magic Mike five gazillion times with your eyes wide open.  Remember, my movie watching persona aspires to be you someday.  (Ahem, when is that DVD release date?)

So what was it about Magic Mike that had me reminiscing over Less Than Zero?  Well, Julian was my first experience with a tortured soul on the big screen.  That forbidden dark world that sparkled on the outside (remember the party house with all the TV’s?) but in reality was just a big soul sucker.  The way you sometimes find out the hard way who your real friends are.  How heartbreakingly beautiful it is when they step up and love you for who you are and want to help.  And how sometimes, it’s just too late.  I’ve honestly never had those exact same feelings as with Less Than Zero until just now with Magic Mike.  In a way, it was even better with MM because the wakeup call has such better timing and is so well-earned yet not overdone.  And the way the characters’ backstories unfold so organically is beautiful.  I loved not knowing for sure what Joanna’s past was but being so intrigued by her reactions to her brother, Adam, and his new stripper friend.  Oh my gosh, and the crazy cool things Joanna and Mike say to each other.  Their conversations are so everyday yet interesting.  (I believe that is the magic and wonder of Mr. Tatum’s acting skills)  I learned a lot about story-telling from Magic Mike.  I love that.

And so even though I suffered from a serious bout of “Holy Guacamole, what am I doing peeking at his hmm-hmm?”, this is a movie I respect and the type of book I want to read/write.

So, what did you think?  Were you there in the theatre strictly for the man show?  Did you enjoy the story just as much?

Who was your favorite dancer?  Give me one good reason why you would answer any other name here besdies CHANNING TATUM!

When did “I Am Number Four” grow up into all that?

Well, hopefully my movie watching side will get with the program so my reading/writing side doesn’t have to glower at  Miss Goody Two-Shoes much longer.

Let’s take some time to talk about this film and these men that were so much more than zero.

For today’s giveaway, I’m picking one random commenter to receive the Magic Mike soundtrack either in MP3 or Audio CD format.  Good luck!