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Review:

Burlesque (2010)

Score: 7/10

Director: Steve Antin

Stars: Christina Aguilera, Kristen Bell, Cher, Alan Cumming, Eric Dane, Cam Gigandet.

Synopsis: A small-town girl named Ali ventures off to Los Angeles and finds her place in a burlesque house run by a former dancer who is trying her best not to lose the club to foreclosure.

Review: A small-town girl named Ali (Christina Aguilera ) is tired of her dead end job and seeks a life of celebrity glamour. She travels to Los Angeles where no matter how hard she tries, she is can’t seem to find a job. One day she talks her way into a waitress position at a neo-burlesque club as a way of getting her foot in the door of the performance world. From there she repeatedly bugs Tess ( Cher ) for a job as a performer.

Christina Aguilera is charming and very talented. Some people may think that her acting may come off as whiny and a little too nice, but I think she is alright. I am happy that a real talented person is actually playing in a musical rather than some nobody wannabe who is horrifically out of tune. To her credit, Christina Aguilera is the kind of singer who can knock you five feet away onto your backside just with her singing alone. This girl has the most powerful lungs in the world like the Mortal Kombat character Sindel. One of the main antagonists in this film is Kristen Bell who is such a bad girl that she ended up in “the bad place”. She plays a cruel and jealous narcissist who will try everything she can to sabotage anyone who tries to get ahead of her. Cher is being Cher as usual. Sadly for her, young people do not know who this woman is and do not care either.

The film focuses on the concept of following your dreams and becoming a famous star. Of course in this post #MeToo world seems very dangerous and risky. It would also seem that many young people are following the same delusion of grandeur, but we will focus on the entertainment aspect of this film. The main protagonist does something very smart in this film. She works at her skills and talents, making herself a prime candidate for the number one spot as the star of the show. When the Nikki ( Kristen Bell ) is unable to put on the show, Ali takes her place as the understudy. A lot of opportunities in life open up like that. It’s good to see that Ali is willing to put in the work and earn her spot instead of just being an entitled and spoiled little brat.

Christina Aguilera’s character "Ali" dramatically pushes the narrative forward. She is way too perfect though. It took the real actress/singer Christina Aguilera a lot of time, work, and dedication to get to where she was in this film and yet the character she plays just has these abilities out of nowhere. Even so, she causes things to happen in her world. She is the opportunistic underdog who is an active protagonist which makes this film work. Really, this is a great help since a film like this would have been a major flop of a story. For the most part, screen writers should keep this in mind.

The cinematography is great. The lighting, wardrobe, set dressing, and backgrounds are great. The performances are great as well. If these kind of musical films are going to be made, it’s good that a real singer like Christina Aguilera is cast in at least one of these movies instead of the awful helium filled screeching other films gives us, with everyone jumping up in the air like someone spiked the water supply with an illegal narcotic (I’m looking at you Glee). Beautiful women, 90’s singing voice, and artful Burlesque is all the reason you need to watch this film, even if you don’t like musicals ( I hate them ). This average film is worth the watch.

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