Sandy Kenyon reviews 'Magic Mike XXL'

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Channing Tatum is back on the big screen this weekend, and he's brought along his friends for a second installment of "Magic Mike."

The first flim was a smash hit, but does the sequel live up to the hype?

While "Magic Mike" offered a fascinating introduction to a sub-culture of male strippers, "Magic Mike XXL" is incredibly boring, though it is understandably why many viewers just won't care.

Tatum returns to the role that made him a superstar, all the more appropriate since the actor once worked as a male stripper in real life. And that's what makes him so believable.

In fact, the sequel was inspired by a tale he tells about a convention of male entertainers he once attended.

Mike has gone legit at the start of the movie and has found steady work making furniture, but he's willing to abandon that for a long road trip to find fame one last time.

It's not so much a story as a series of scenes, and admittedly, some are entertaining, such as when the strippers encounter a group of bored housewives.

Andie McDowell almost makes up for the absence of Matthew McConaughey, who is nowhere to be found, though Jada Pinkett Smith does her best as mistress of ceremonies.

The first movie was directed by Steven Soderbergh, but his longtime assistant director, Gregory Jabocs, made the sequel, with Soderbergh acting as director of photography.