The Best Movies of 2012

15. Magic Mike

Make all the jokes you want, but Channing Tatum's semi-autobiographical stripping dramedy is more than just a guilty pleasure. Steven Soderbergh being the director ought to have been clue No. 1. Unlike many other films, Magic Mike knows exactly what it is — a fleshy, shameless romp — and doesn't try to be something it's not, all the while delivering a new take on the American Dream. If anything, it's taught us that we can have our (beef)cake and eat it too.