Not As Disastrous As It Appears.Ali (Christina Aguilera) leaves her small Iowa town for the bright lights of Los Angeles. She discovers a little cabaret bar called Burlesque that features beautiful girls dancing beautifully. While Ali works her way up from waitress to star attraction the club owner, Tess (Cher), struggles to keep the place open. Not only will Ali have to find a way to achieve her dream she’ll also have to figure out how to keep the wrecking ball from reducing her dream to rubble.
When the previews for Burlesque hit the scene my friends and I were convinced this movie musical would be a genuine stinker. It just looked like one of those tired flicks about a simple girl fighting her way to become a glamour queen and then getting wrapped up in the usual clichés such as letting her ego drive away all those who genuinely care for her and choosing the rich and abusive jerk over the humble good guy. Burlesque looked like a quick paycheck for Cher and an easy acting debut for Christina Aguilera where she could act a part that would require her to do the stuff she already does for her day job. Oh, I was going to see it but I already had the preconception that Burlesque was going to be a limp and loose remake of A Star Is Born (1976).
On 11/28/10 my friend and I attended a viewing of Burlesque and afterwards we were both pretty satisfied with our ticket purchase. Granted, I did walk in with very low expectations for the film so part of that elation might be related to the film turning out to be better than cinematic garbage. I still liked the movie, though. I liked it a lot. I liked it so much I have already set in mind to get the soundtrack (available now) and the home release (available later). One of the things I liked about Burlesque is that it actually avoids a lot of the clichés that these kinds of movies constantly fall into.
Yes, Ali is a fresh young thing from Iowa but she’s no dumb blonde. Oh, what a wonderfully earnest, honest and headstrong character Ms. Aguilera got to play. I wonder if Britney Spears is shredding her Crossroads (2002) posters in envious disgust somewhere. Anyway, Ali is a character that believes in achieving her dreams without backstabbing, lying or relying solely on the charity of strangers. She does it the honest way by working hard and when she gets to a high level it just makes her work even more diligently so she doesn’t get trapped or tripped up by those who would use her for their own selfish goals.
Tess is not the typical bitter and faded starlet who looks at Ali with jealously and disdain. Actually, Tess sees herself in Ali; a female spitfire who knows what she wants and will get it on her own terms. Once Ali proves that she is not just an ordinary wannabe performer Tess gives Ali the opportunity to strut her stuff and it pays off in a variety of ways. And when Tess isn’t putting on the show she’s squabbling with her ex-hubby (Peter Gallagher) about his desire to sell the club to an eager real estate hotshot (Eric Dane). It was great to see a genuine diva like Cher play a fictional diva on screen who, like Cher, isn’t crying about aging but rather reveling in her maturity and refusing to let two little numbers stop her from doing what she wants to do.
I also liked that Ali’s friendship with Jack (Cam Gigandet) was truly a friendship for most of the film. Since Jack has a long distance fiancée Ali and Jack get to have an amusing platonic relationship with an undercurrent of sexual tension. Then Ali starts hanging out with Marcus (Eric Dane) and Jack starts to seriously question what he wants in his romantic life.
And Marcus turns out not to be the stereotypical rich sadist that lives to entice a woman with his wealth and then toss her in the dumpster when he’s had his fill. He realizes that Ali is a strong character and actually develops a genuine respect for her. Though he poses a potential threat to the club it was another refreshing twist on the typical rich guy character that is usually devoid of compassion and tenderness.
Feather Boa = Fabulous! - Sean (Stanley Tucci)
The musical numbers are wonderful and will probably remind most of past movie musicals such as Fame (2009), Moulin Rouge (2001) and Nine (2009). The dance elements are lavish, sultry and fun. The final dance sequence left me drooling for more. Aguilera and Kristen Bell look pretty good with the pros but let’s be honest; the dancer most of us wanted to see was Julianne Hough.
The Dancing With The Stars alum not only gets to dazzle the audience with her slick moves on the big screen but her character, “Georgia”, also gets a small yet notable piece of the plot pie when she learns of her unexpected medical emergency. Just keep in mind, fans, that Julianne went red-head for the flick so if you see a smoldering brunette in the kick-line that kinda looks like Lindsay Lohan that's Julianne.
Along with the hot hoofing are a couple of poignant solo song pieces for Cher and Christina Aguilera that might drop a jaw or two. Again, I loved the music so much that I will definitely add the soundtrack to my music collection. As a fan of Aguilera’s vocals it was great to hear and watch her belt out vintage jazz numbers, that powerful ballad “Bound To You” and a couple of club-ready dance beats. Those who were turned off by her work on her 2010 album “Bionic” might enjoy the return to the kind of music that Ms. Aguilera’s voice really shines in. I kept thinking that it would’ve been great if she was able to release her “Back To Basics” album along with the Burlesque movie stuff. Both projects served as tributes to styles of the past and would’ve made for a great combination. Oh, well.
Can You Burlesque As Good As Tess? - Tess (Cher)
While there was stuff about Burlesque that truly pleased me there were a couple of things that left me with mixed emotions. I would’ve liked a little more coverage of Nikki (Kristen Bell), the star dancer at the club until Ali gets her big break. The rivalry between Nikki and Ali is downplayed, I guess, to keep the story from going into terribly familiar territory but I still would’ve liked to hear more from Nikki. It also would’ve been nice to see what made Nikki the lead dancer at the club. Poor Ms. Bell only gets one full dance scene. I mean, was Ms. Bell’s footwork that bad that they had to chop it up so much? On the other hand, I guess enough was revealed about Nikki so that I could understand her character just enough so that it didn’t make the movie thirty minutes longer than it needed to be.
However, I am miffed that Alan Cumming got such an itty bitty part in the flick. It was perfect casting to have him play “Alexis”, the maitre d of the club, since he did such an outstanding job playing “The Emcee” in the 1998 Broadway revival of Cabaret but he’s barely a blip in Burlesque. It would’ve been great if the quirky comments could’ve been divvied up between Mr. Cumming and Stanley Tucci’s stage director character, “Sean”. Well, at least Mr. Cumming got a chance to perform a really nifty musical moment in the film but wanted more of Mr. Cumming in the movie. Like with “Nikki”, there was just enough of each character to keep the movie from going into overtime. As much as I enjoy Alan Cumming his character in Burlesque didn’t need as much attention as “Ali”, “Tess” or “Jack”.
Ali's Gimmick Makes Her More Than A Mimic - Ali (Christina Aguilera)
Overall, Burlesque was a lot better than I thought it would be. The musical numbers were fantastic and should be seen on the big screen and with surround sound. The story isn’t too flat footed either. There are enough fresh takes on the archetypal characters to keep Burlesque from being a complete retread. Though the story had a simplistic nature the characters were interesting enough to keep me attentive even when they weren’t singing and dancing. I don’t think Burlesque belongs in the “bad taste pool”. The film constantly runs to the diving board and then quickly pulls back before taking the plunge into the muck. For me, Burlesque managed to skate along that fine line between good entertainment and bad art. It isn’t completely horrible but it isn’t a contender for “Best Picture” either.
I enjoyed Burlesque so much that I am recommending it to my friends and will probably end up seeing it a few more times with other friends. I recommend Burlesque for those who like movie musicals and especially for those who like Cher, Christina Aguilera and Stanley Tucci. I’m not saying it was the best movie of the year but it was certainly one of the most entertaining.
Source: FireFoxNews
No comments:
Post a Comment