Was 'Magic Mike XXL' Improvised?

It wouldn't have been a shock if Magic Mike XXL, the new sequel to the 2012 hit, didn't do much in the way of dialogue. After all, it is a movie about male strippers, starring people like Channing Tatum and Matt Bomer — the movie would be excused for focusing less on what its actors said, and way more on what they did. Yet not only is there plenty of dialogue in the film, but it all seems so real and relatable that you wonder if it was actually in the script, or just said on the spot — was Magic Mike XXL improvised? After all, those hilarious lines about fro-yo and the Backstreet Boys can't all have been planned, right?

According to screenwriter Reid Carolin, a portion of the movie's dialogue was created completely off the cuff, including some of its most notable lines. In an interview with Cosmo, Carolin revealed that one of Magic Mike XXL 's most memorable scenes — the guys asking Richie (Joe Manganiello) if he'd had sex —included a line totally made up, and by none other than one of its stars. Said the writer about adding "you bangy?" to the film, "That was Channing. That was not written. Those are the nuggets you can't write, that's Channing."

Well, now we know that Tatum says "you bangy?" whenever referring to someone having sex, so there's that. But wait, it gets better: Vulture reports that Tatum, apparently, wasn't satisfied with just improvising one line; he also came up with "Clitoria Labia," Mike's drag name, as well as the shimmying he does in a scene with Zoe (Amber Heard). Apparently, the actor's improvisational skills aren't just limited to words.

What else did the movie's crew improvise? Vulture says that Joe Manganiello was responsible for his character's repeated refrains of, "I'm a fucking male entertainer!," a line that's certain to be an immediate sensation among Magic Mike XXL fans and strip club-lovers everywhere.

According to director Greg Jacobs, the two stars' tendency to make stuff up was anything but an annoyance —"some of the magic of Magic Mike is a Chan-invented line on the spot," he told ScreenRant. The filmmaker said that his goal was to "create an environment where people feel like they can contribute without any kind of judgement being passed."

"It’s fun," he continued. "I’ve worked as a producer and an assistant director for a lot of different directors so I felt like I got to watch other people work and the ones to me who are the best are the ones who are open."

As a fan, I couldn't agree more; Magic Mike XXL definitely benefits from its actors added lines (seriously, what would the movie have been without those guys saying "bangy?").Tatum's contributions, in particular, stand out, and it makes me wonder — what other parts of the movie did he improvise? A few guesses:

Dancing To "Pony" In The Woodshop

I can imagine that it's not unusual for Tatum to burst into dance whenever a '90s R&B classic comes on the radio.

Describing His Drag Character

It can't have only been the name; I think that Tatum is responsible for coming up with the entire story of Clitoria Labia, and has had it ready for years.

Hating On Red Velvet

It felt too natural (and WRONG) to be anything but honest.

Having A "White Chocolate" Past

It's Rome (Jada Pinkett Smith)'s line, but I wouldn't be shocked if that was all based on Tatum's real past as a dancer.

Being That Pissed When Richie Threw Out His Phone

I mean, that was rough. Couldn't he have just put it on airplane mode for a few hours? No wonder Tatum looked furious.

There are a lot of reasons to love Magic Mike XXL, but at the top is definitely knowing how many lines were improvised (or hopefully improvised) by Tatum. Excuse me, I mean Clitoria Labia.

Images: Warner Bros; Giphy (5)