Here's why I really liked her in "Magic Mike"

I've only seen Cody Horn in "Magic Mike" and I was really impressed. What a shocker it is to come to imdb and see so many people ripping her FOR that performance.

She wasn't supposed to be a cute love interest, not a glamorous heartbreaker, not even a very friendly person at all. The tone is set in her 1st meeting with Mike, when she gives him a lashing about cooking breakfast, only to realize Mike was asking her to accompany them to breakfast at a restaurant.

That, plus the fact that she's a young 20-something with a no-event career, trying to play mother to her 19-year-old misfit brother, shows that her character is a psychological mess. Anyone with that much responsibility heaped on her at such a young age will turn cold, repressed and judgmental of others who are living the carefree life she secretly wanted. And the tough part of playing such a character: she has to hide it.

Cody Horn nailed it. Even though she didn't get the chance to play a cute Audrey-Hepburn-type character that the audience would instantly fall in love with, she showcased some great acting skills by playing a character with a lot of depth.

Two scenes were phenomenal. The first is at the sandbar party where we see how awkward & insecure she feels. Notice how she fidgets & kicks the sand with her feet like a nervous kid, even though she's speaking as if she's an adult in control of the situation. Also notice how she physically recoils at being touched and immediately slips off by herself whenever someone says something she doesn't like. The second scene was when she flips out in Mike's apartment. That's when the emotionless facade falls and we see how terrified, vulnerable and not-in-control she actually is.