( CNN ) -- There are guy movies and girl movies , the latter of which the guys label `` chick flicks '' and often only ever see under protest . In `` Sleepless in Seattle '' the late Nora Ephron had fun with the idea that for a typical guy , the definition of a tearjerker would be `` The Dirty Dozen '' ( because that 's about as emotional as we fellas want to get ) . Is `` Magic Mike '' a chick flick ? If it is , it may the first of a new breed . It 's a crisp , unsentimental story , with none of those lingering sunset shots you find in Nicholas Sparks ' adaptations ( well , OK , almost none ) , and a heroine who spends most of the movie tutting her disapproval on the sidelines . But for sure , women are going to be this film 's primary audience . Why ? Because Magic Mike ( Channing Tatum ) is a stripper , and so is his mentor , club owner Dallas ( Matthew McConaughey ) , and his 19-year-old protÃ©gÃ© , Adam ( Alex Pettyfer ) . Just a hunch , but I reckon a lot of guys are going to hold out for `` The Amazing Spider-Man '' next week . Director Steven Soderbergh 's last movie was the female action film `` Haywire , '' which did n't click with audiences of either sex . But he may be on to something this time . It 's a good year to be Channing Tatum . From the opening shots of a buff , naughty McConaughey teasing the audience in tight leather trousers ( `` What ca n't you touch ? `` ) , it 's clear that Soderbergh has the measure of what his audience wants . He 's going to give it to them , too , but not too much , too soon because the tease is as important as the strip . A college dropout who draws the line at taking any job that requires him to wear a tie , Adam is living with his big sister Brooke ( Cody Horn ) when his new buddy Mike ushers him into the delights of the Xquisite Male Dance Revue . In time-honored backstage musical tradition , `` the kid '' gets thrown on stage when one of the stars ca n't go on . Next thing he knows , Adam is shopping for a stars and stripes thong for the Fourth of July special . Scripted by Reid Carolin and inspired by Channing Tatum 's own experiences as a Tampa stripper in the 1990s , `` Magic Mike '' is honest about the attractions of the job ( money , girls , fun ) without pretending it 's a smart choice in the long run ( too much fun , too many girls , not enough money ) . I liked the brightly lit , casual camaraderie of the dressing room scenes , while on stage the routines here are sexy , playful and ( I 'm guessing ) much better choreographed than you 're likely to see downtown on a Saturday night . Brawny and bruised , Tatum does n't look like it but he is a heck of a dancer . If the movie was in 3-D you 'd probably be stuffing bills into his briefs , bills like the ones we see Mike flattening under a heavy book in one of the film 's numerous truthful touches . Less interesting is Mike 's haphazard courtship of Brooke . Is it a coincidence that Cody Horn is the daughter of Warner Bros. President Alan Horn ? I have no idea , but she 's a bland performer and the weak link here ( Olivia Munn blows her away as a slumming psychology student who is Mike 's substitute girl ) .
Channing Tatum plays a stripper and Matthew McConaughey a club owner in `` Magic Mike '' Director Steven Soderbergh 's last movie was the female action film `` Haywire '' which is based on an actual story of a man who tried to smuggle cocaine into America.