Tatum Flinch Response

Maybe I have a Channing Tatum flinch reaction. He’s never bothered me as an actor, but I rarely have high hopes for his movies…and then they tend to pleasantly surprise me. I thought Dog was going to be a terrible movie and it was good. Looking back at that movie, I blame the marketing choices that went in to promoting that movie. It wasn’t a buddy movie; it was gentle look at PTSD with the acknowledgment that dogs are just as much affected by war as humans. So, one would think that I’d learn my lesson when the next Channing Tatum movie showed up on my schedule. I saw the posters, didn’t really pay attention to it…I didn’t even bother to watch the trailer before heading to see this. My 17yo wanted to see it, so I put it on my screening schedule and away we went. To say I dreaded seeing the movie would be an over exaggeration, but it wasn’t exactly a movie I was eager to brag about seeing ahead of time. Imagine my surprise when I found a crazy amount of public and press clamoring to see it. Was even more shocked when I overheard a few press people sort of excited to see it.

Once again, Channing proved me wrong. Is it a GREAT movie? No…lol…but is it a fun, campy movie? Yeah. I would say if you’re a fan of 21 Jump Street, then you’d probably enjoy this as well. Now 21JS is better due to the improv nature of the film, but this had the same laid-back goofiness. It’s delightfully goofy, in fact. I thought I’d have the same cringe response I did watching Uncharted, but nope. I found it a relaxing kind of fun. The movie plays off the “Channing Tatum is an idiot” trope, but when something works can you really complain? The cast & cameos all work. It was fun to see Daniel Radcliffe play a highly ridiculous villain. And for god sakes…can we get Brad Pitt into more comedic roles? He does comedy sooooo well. His scenes are brilliant and made me wish for a sequel just due to his role. Is it worth a full price ticket? Eh…no. Is it worth a $5 Tuesday/Wednesday deal? Yeah. Still want to wait for streaming? Fine, but give it a go when you scroll. And maybe, just maybe I will have stopped flinching when I see a Channing Tatum movie pop up.