Burlesque
by Dante Rosario on December 7th, 2010
The Players: Cher, Christina Aguilera, Cam Gigandet, Eric Dane, Kristen Bell, Stanley Tucci, Alan Cumming, and Peter Gallagher.
The Game Plan: Ali (Christina Aguilera) is a small town girl from Iowa who moves to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of becoming a singer and dancer. Soon after she arrives in Los Angeles she meets Tess, (Cher) a former dancer and the owner of the neo-burlesque club, The Burlesque Lounge. After having her initial pitch to work as a dancer at The Burlesque Lounge rejected by Tess, Ali befriends a bartender at the club named Jack (Cam Gigandet), and manages to land a job as a cocktail waitress instead. Tess is on the verge of losing her club, and begins having auditions for new dancers. Ali sees this as her opportunity to show what she is made of. Although reluctant to give her a shot, Ali’s persistence wins Tess over. After just a few performances Tess learns Ali has the talent to move the crowd with her voice and that her popularity is rising fast. As Ali rises to stardom she sees both the bright and dark sides of the fame she has pursued after her entire life.
Dante’s Thoughts: Burlesque didn’t turn out to be the type of musical I’d hoped it would be. When I think of musicals, I think of movies like “The Sound of Music,” “Greece,” “Moulin Rouge,” or “Sweeny Todd,” where rich musical numbers set the tone, and advance the plot. In those films the music conveys the characters emotions to the audience; “Burlesque” is definitely not one of those films.
In this film all the musical numbers are saved for when the girls are on stage…what a shocker. “Burlesque” just seems like a different version of “Coyote Ugly,” yet another movie about a small town girl who moves to the big city, and lands a job at a club known for its talented dancers. Oh by the way, the small town girl also has a hidden talent for singing. …Did I mention Ali gets robbed in “Burlesque?” Yet another similarity to the plot of “Coyote Ugly.” And let’s not forget about the boy. Yes Ali falls in love with a boy in “Burlesque.”
In all honesty, “Burlesque” is basically just one long Christina Aguilera music video. One of the main questions I had going into this film was how well will Christina Aguilera perform? To sum it up, she wasn’t terrible. When she was in her element, she was good. Everyone knows the girl can sing, but Christina singing, and Christina acting, should not be confused as being the same thing. The best acting performance in this film goes to Stanley Tucci, who plays Sean, the clubs lead stylist. His character provides the comic relief throughout the movie and really keeps the audience laughing. The other supporting characters were either over acted or under acted, which gives each scene a hit or miss feel. The biggest disappointment for me though was Cher, who I honestly wasn’t all that impressed with. She just wasn’t convincing as the sassy club owner who does things her way and doesn’t back down from people. Did I mention there’s a sassy club owner in “Coyote Ugly” as well?
As for the overall story, the real drama in “Burlesque” aside from Ali’s rise to fame and her love life centers on the survival of the club itself. The fate of Burlesque Lounge is the heart of the plot, but when the big climatic ending finally comes, it gets glossed over. I for one couldn’t help thinking there had to be more to end of the story than they gave us.
Touchdowns: The singing, the dance routines, and the experience of being at The Burlesque Lounge were the highlights of the movie for me. As I stated earlier, “Burlesque” is one long music video starring Christina Aguilera, and her voice is amazing; she really puts on a show in this film. Even Cher jumps in a few times to show audiences she’s still got it.
Penalties: The storyline, the lack of any real acting, and the corny dialogue, made this film about as good as a mid afternoon soap opera …If you like soap operas I don’t mean that in a positive way. Sure not everyone in this film was bad, but the bad and or inexperienced cast members brought down the other performances. Again, the greatest disappointment was Cher in the role of down on her luck club owner Tess. I’m also throwing a flag against the lack of character development around Ali. It’s obvious she’s had some level of professional training as a singer start when she arrives in Los Angeles, but the director never took the time to show the audience how she’d become so talented, which in my mind makes her character pretty unrealistic. Even naturally gifted people have to hone their talents somewhere, regardless of their profession.
The Fumble: Is Christina Aguilera a great singer? Sure… I’m not trying to debate that fact. Has Cher had some great performances in her past? I think she has. Does a movie about a sexy burlesque nightclub whose fate hangs in the balance make for an intriguing plot? Maybe. However, none of those elements come together in this instance to make a great movie. Despite her great chops Christina Aguilera isn’t ready to call herself an actress, and Cher’s lackluster performance was a real let down. Lastly, all I can say is…nice try, but “Burlesque” is a Fumble.
Loading ...
