The Enduring Appeal Of Channing Tatum

When the actor first burst onto the scene as a fresh-faced 20-something, it was co-starring alongside Amanda Bynes in 2006's "She's the Man." Even then, Tatum's brawn (after all, he was voted "most athletic" on the heels of his 1998 high school graduation) is what landed him the role as Duke, the captain of the soccer team who begins to fall for Viola (Bynes). Of course, he's also completely unaware that Viola is disguising herself as her twin brother Sebastian to make a point about sexism in team sports, and "Sebastian" happens to play on the same team as Duke. 

Even here, Tatum is unafraid to subvert masculine tendencies — he and Sebastian squeal when a roommate's pet tarantula is unleashed, hilariously spotlighting the myth of one gender's predisposition for eschewing arachnophobia. There's also the clear allusion to homoerotic urges, evident in Duke's eventual lust for Viola after getting to know his teammate Sebastian more intimately — he likes Viola precisely because she reminds him of someone he already knows, gender (and, you know, the fact that they're the same person) be damned. Importantly, he is also never branded as a meathead or a bully — even in his breakout role, he's a gentle giant, a characterization that continues to define his heartfelt himboism on-screen. Sure, he might always get the girl — but it never feels mean-spirited or gloat-y. Instead, it all relys on his characters to reveal their hearts of gold which lay just under their impeccable washboard abs. 

This is where "Step Up" comes into play, with the Tatum-starring first installment releasing a few months after his breakthrough in "She's the Man." This film forever evinced the actor's robust dancing chops — expertise he gained working as a male stripper early during his career, but more on that later — putting him in close proximity with boy band hunks of the era, their chiseled handsomeness often accompanied by slick choreography. Yet Tatum's character in "Step Up" is once again restrained from occupying a position of power or dominance. After scheming with his friends to commit petty crimes, Tyler (Tatum) is sentenced to 200 hours of community service at a dance academy that he and his friends recently trashed after-hours — he becomes the de-facto teenage janitor and meets Nora (Jenna Dewan, who Tatum later married for nearly a decade). Of course, the two fall in love when an auspicious accident leaves Nora without a partner — luckily for her, Tyler is an amateur hip-hop dancer with serious promise. 

"She's the Man" and "Step Up," released in the same year, would ultimately determine Tatum's career trajectory. For the next six years, he would star in a number of leading and supporting roles, with none of them quite penetrating the broader cultural lexicon in the same way. Sure, there was a cameo in Jon M. Chu's directorial debut "Step Up 2: The Streets," where he briefly reprises his role as Tyler, and the Nicholas Sparks adaptation of "Dear John" (you guessed it: he plays the titular John!) However, Tatum's broader appeal — particularly as a captivating actor and highly skilled dancer — wouldn't manifest for a few more years.

Sadly, we can't always see Tatum sporting eclectic dance styles and parading around in fun little outfits. But honestly, Tatum's more comedic-leaning commercial work contains just as much appeal as his racier, more suggestive stuff. There remains a bite of dark humor in "21 Jump Street," the 2012 remake of the iconic TV series of the same name which came out the same year as the first "Magic Mike" installment. Co-starring Tatum and Jonah Hill, there is also a reliance on physical comedy — a facet of entertainment that Tatum is well-versed in. Not only is the actor totally adept at making his hetero-macho appearance the perfect punchline, but the actor also demonstrates his commitment to taking down men who might try and emulate stereotypical patriarchal behavior by having his brand of clean-shaven, jock-influenced sexiness constantly take second-place to "unconventionally attractive" — but much more real — characters. 

This is exemplified in the dynamic between his character, Greg, and Schmidt (Hill), who are both working undercover at a high school seven years after they both failed to attend their own senior proms. Unpacking alpha male Greg's worldly misconceptions alongside Schmidt's dismal self-confidence leads to both men forming a much more healthy attachment to themselves, completely obliterating the idea of high school cliques, coolness, and teenage conceits. The film's wokeness doesn't seem totally groan-inducing either, truly honing in on the fact that nowadays, you're a loser if you're not a politically conscious and informed adolescent — though as someone who graduated high school one year after this film was released, the anti-edginess crusade clearly didn't reach my New Jersey high school until a few years later.

In fact, Tatum and Hill also steal several scenes in 2014's "The Lego Movie," playing Superman and The Green Lantern, respectively. Though their buddy-cop antics in "21 Jumpstreet" (and "22 Jump Street" released in 2014 as well) boast fabulous chemistry between the two, their small yet mighty roles in "The Lego Movie" find the duo as unlikely adversaries. Well, actually, The Green Lantern adores Superman — who would rather voluntarily expose himself to Kryptonite than spend unnecessary time chit-chatting with his fellow superhero. The dynamic is always playful and does something different than what the pair have already explored in the "Jump Street" films, again proving Tatum's versatility and comfort with pushing seemingly set boundaries.

This is certainly reflected in the actor's work with Soderbergh, who immediately cast him in his two subsequent films after "Magic Mike" — both heralding decidedly dramatic departures for the actor. Though Tatum's role in "Side Effects" is somewhat minor — he plays the husband who Rooney Mara's character stabs to death while sleepwalking, a purported "side effect" of her new medication — it once again occupies this role of a man who is ultimately conquered by a woman. This is far less humorous and sexually charged than his previous work which entails this set-up but equally steeped in an inverted sense of dominance. Despite Tatum's domineering stature and hulking physicality, it seems he's all too easily able to be subdued — by love, by beauty, by women.

In "Logan Lucky," this woman happens to be Jimmy Logan's (Tatum) young daughter Sadie (Farrah Mackenzie), who is set to move away from their small West Virginia town with her mother Bobbie Jo (Katie Holmes) and stepfather Moody (David Denman). Jimmy and his brother Clyde (Adam Driver, who's equally hulking stature make him and Tatum impeccable co-stars) plan to stage a formidable heist at a local speedway to give the brothers a much-needed financial bail-out—which Jimmy hopes can help him move wherever his ex-wife and daughter go. This is perhaps Tatum's most impressive and layered performance to date, while also serving as his de-facto departure from acting for nearly four years. Since "Logan Lucky," Tatum took a role in a "Kingsman" sequel and a few voice-acting parts, but nothing has seriously stood out since. The truth is, two films the actor starred in from 2014 through 2015 are really what broke the camel's back, forcing him to take a step back and breathe for a few years, as he'd been overexerting himself physically and emotionally.