Pandering in thongs to throngs

IF you thought the world of male exotic dancing was inhabited by ordinary Joes in hard hats and police uniforms with exhibitionist tendencies and big, um, dreams, eager simply to please throngs of desperate housewives, squealing co-eds and assorted admirers of the chiselled male form, you'd probably be right.

At least that's how these groups are depicted in Magic Mike XXL, a sequel to the similarly titled but sadly un-sized 2012 film which pulled back the veil on the male strip club scene in Florida and provided Channing Tatum with a platform to demonstrate exactly what he was up to before he became a movie star.

That earlier film, directed by Steven Soderbergh, was a surprise hit and led to XXL, which has a bigger budget and yes, plus-sized expectations.