Burlesque is one of those annoying films that has potential but fails simply because someone didn’t do their job properly. A lot of people have leveled criticism at Christina Aguilera (newcomer) for the film, but she puts in a credible effort. The problem with Burlesque can be traced back to writer/director, Steve Antin (Glass House: The Good Mother) who proves to be a good director but a woeful screenwriter.
Burlesque tells the story of Ali (Aguilera), a small-town girl with an amazing singing voice, who dreams of making it big in L.A. Upon her arrival in the City of Angels she wanders into a struggling club called Burlesque, which is run by Tess (Cher – Stuck On You, Tea With Mussolini) and her collaborator, Sean (Stanley Tucci – Easy A, The Lovely Bones). Ali wants in, but Tess isn’t convinced she has what it takes to be a dancer at the club, not that that stops Ali who decides to wait her chance while working as a waitress. During this time she captures the eye of bartender, Jack (Cam Gigandet – Easy A, The Experiment) and the very rich, Marcus (Eric Dane – Valentine’s Day, TV’S Private Practice), who also has a plan to buy and pull-down the club. Ali also manages to make firm enemies with the club’s lead performer, Nikki (Kristen Bell – You Again, TV’S Gossip Girl).
Steve Antin really does make a mess of this film – all because he makes the mistake so many writer/directors make; he didn’t get another writer involved with the script. If the right people had read the script they would have picked up the fact that he has some of the most clichéd dialogue you could ever imagine (people actually burst out laughing in the cinema in the screening I was at), and would have also picked up on the fact that he was really trying to shove too much into the script – did we really need the love story for Sean, as it really didn’t move the story on at all? The only thing really working in Antin’s favor is that he directs the club scenes and musical numbers really well, and manages not to make the film a rip-off of the general story-line of Coyote Ugly.
It’s been unfortunate that the faults of Burlesque have been pushed onto the cast. Christina Aguilera does an okay job in her first leading role… despite the fact that her song miming was dreadfully obvious at times, while Cher more than holds her own… although she was the one that Antin seemed to give the most clichéd lines to. And while Kristen Bell, Eric Dane and Cam Gigandet are wasted in roles that are simply walking clichés, Stanley Tucci hits the jackpot. He gets the role of the lovable, Sean down pat, and is a joy to watch. He literally steals the show and seems to be one of the only characters that Antin gets right… he also seems to get the best lines… the ones that work.
Burlesque is worth a look. The musical numbers are a treat to watch (well except for Cher’s ballad that was completely unnecessary), and Tucci, Cher and Aguilera are well worth the admission price. Just don’t expect a work of art, and certainly expect to see most of the gloss of the film wiped away by a screenwriter who was completely out of his depth. Burlesqueis enjoyable if not cheesy in parts.
Year: 2010
Director: Steve Antin
Stars: Christina Aguilera, Cher, Stanley Tucci, Cam Gigandet, Eric Dane, Kristen Bell
Classification: M
Runtime: 119 mins
Rating: 