Burlesque (2010)

I'm not a Christina Aguilera fan, nor Cher's, but they both have phenomenal voices and I like many of their songs, and I'm also fascinated by burlesque, so I thought I'd give this musical a chance. 

The film follows Ali (Christina Aguilera), a young waitress from Iowa who leaves her small town to pursue her dreams in Los Angeles. Once in L.A., she tries and fails every audition she does; then, one night, she finds herself in a burlesque club and falls in love with this art. When Tess (Cher), the club owner, refuses to audition her, Ali begins serving customers at the club as a waitress until she finds a place for herself in the show. Meanwhile, Tess must find a way to save her club from bankruptcy.

Too bad the execution leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, the plot to Burlesque is a mess. It's cheesy, filled with clichés, predictable and quite absurd, and the subplots --the backstabbing, the romances, the financial problems-- aren't very compelling. 

The characters aren't that sharp either. Ali is your typical ingénue turned star demanding attention. Also, the transition from small-town, innocent girl to queen of burlesque happens to fast. At least she is likeable. The other characters are paper-thin stereotypes --the bitchy rival, the sassy gay backstage manager, the club owner with a heart of gold, the super rich guy who wants to buy the club, the handsome bartender. Not to mention the many male characters that have no reason whatsoever to be in here.

Despite the lacklustre screenplay, Burlesque still manages to engage and entertain, and most of the credits go to the cast. Christina Aguilera, despite her non-existent acting skills, carries the film on her shoulders. She brilliantly displays her acting skills and shows off her powerful voice; when she does not sing, she has the charm to keep us interested and glued to the screen between songs. Cher's acting is terrible too, mainly because she is so botoxed it's a miracle she still can move her lips, but, just like Aguilera, her vocals are so on point you forget about everything else. Stanley Tucci, on the other hand, gives a good performance as, you guessed it, the gay manager. He is funny, and probably the only person in Burlesque who is familiar with acting, as the rest of the cast either show off their voices --Aguilera and Cher-- or serve as eye-candy --the other dancers and Cam Gigandet.

Screen Gems

The musical aspect of Burlesque is a bit disappointing though. While the songs are nice and catchy, and wonderfully performed, the dance numbers are good but ruined by the editing. Also, they lack originality as it often feels like watching scenes from Bob Fosse's Cabaret, Rob Marshall's Chicago and Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!.