CAN I TOUCH IT?: An Ode to 'Magic Mike' and 'Magic Mike XXL'

Veronica Phillips waxes poetic about strippers, tackiness, and the curiosity and act of becoming they invite.

by Veronica Phillips

Magic Mike opens on a leather-clad stripper “named” Dallas (Matthew McConaughey). Dallas is beautiful; tanned and toned, with an almost wiriness to his biceps and shredded torso. From his vantage point on stage, Dallas speaks out to an unseen, but very heard, audience of hollering women. As he repeats one key question over and over — “Can you touch this?” —  his own hands move along his body. The “correct” answer is always a teasing, coy “no,” though the women all scream “yes” every time. 

“The law says you cannot touch!” Dallas finally calls out. It seems briefly like he is setting a boundary for the club’s rules. But then, with a coy smile, Dallas croons out into the crowd: “But I think I see a lot of lawbreakers up in this house tonight. And I don’t see a cop in sight.” 

This opening scene is separated from the rest of Magic Mike. It’s a precursor to any sort of storyline, as if separated from our conventional understanding of time and space. Dallas’ opening monologue is an invitation — positioning Dallas as a pseudo-emcee not just of the club, but of the film, as he invites these women, as well as us personally, to accept the fantasy of the space.