The Magic Mike movies were many things (including being way better than you might assume, for the most part), but they also scratched a certain slightly carnal itch that many films don't get near. We're not saying every movie needs buff male bodies on display, but there's often no harm in a few.
Netflix is stepping up to fill that void this year, though, with a new original movie: The Merry Gentlemen. It'll tell an altogether less glitzy tale of the origins of a male dance revue, one that comes together to stave a storied local venue – and it comes to Netflix on 20 November this year.
The first full trailer for the movie makes it clear just how much fun you can expect to have. It quickly lays out the story: Britt Robertson plays Ashley, a former Broadway dancer who returns home to find that her parents' much-loved local venue is facing closure due to a lack of interest.
When she spies the undeniably impressive physique of not only local contractor Luke (Chad Michael Murray) but a bunch of other hunks around the place, she starts to come up with a plan. It's simple: start a male burlesque troupe that will draw in way bigger numbers, because why wouldn't it?
Unlike some other movies (including plenty of the Magic Mike entries) this means that we'll almost certainly get a few stirring montages as men actually learn to dance and strip. These guys aren't career dancers, after all – they're regular joes just getting stuck in to help their favourite venue.
The whole thing is also set around the holidays, with Christmas acting as a deadline for the venue to survive, so there's no doubt that this looks like a perfect choice for any Thanksgiving or Christmas movie nights. After all, it might not be easy to find movie choices that can include the older generation, but what granny wouldn't be enticed by the prospect of a few rippling eight-packs cavorting around?
As one user on YouTube put it: "Thank you Netflix…a Christmas Magic Mike. Just what I need to ignore my annoying family." If that sounds like something you need when it comes out, you'll want to subscribe to Netflix if you haven't already – and if you want more advice on which is the best streaming service, be sure to check out our rankings now.
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