Is Magic Mike XXL Based On Channing Tatum's Life?

After months and months of waiting impatiently, it's here. The sequel to Magic Mike, Magic Mike XXL, premiered on July 1st and it's glorious. We can debate until the end of time whether or not Magic Mike XXL is feminist (the answer is a resounding yes, people!) and we can all swoon over the collective abs of the Kings of Tampa men, and re-watch the Joe Mangianello dance scene until the end of time, but I'm wondering if this film was based on Channing Tatum's life? Magic Mike was loosely based on Tatum's career as a stripper before he became a bonafide movie star and married his Step Up sweetheart Jenna Dewan-Tatum, but what about the sequel which Tatum himself has called "definitely lighter", "definitely more fun", and a "stripper odyssey?" Is Magic Mike XXL based on Tatum's life at all?

There are definitely parts that are based in truth, much like the first film. While writing the ideas for the script with screenwriter Reid Carolin, the actor did in fact base the Myrtle Beach stripping convention off of two conventions he attended, one of which was in Raleigh, North Carolina, Tatum told GQ. Carolin explained during a press conference that he and Tatum were stuck on how to write the sequel. So when he asked Tatum what the stripping conventions were like, the actor replied "That’s the problem. We didn’t do anything... We just blew each other up... We told each other how wonderful we were and how good we looked." Carolin then realized "Well, we have a movie."

So while the detailed story lines in the film may not be grounded in reality, at least we can rest easy in knowing that every year there are men as sexy as Tatum and his cronies dancing for the enjoyment of thousands of women all over the country, and that Tatum himself attended these conventions. Isn't that just the best news?

Images: Screenshot/YouTube; Giphy