- Details
- Published: Wednesday, 24 November 2010 23:04
- Written by Lupe Haas
CineMovie sent Cher fan Gil Kaan to see BURLESQUE and below is his review for Christina Aguilera's acting debut.
The wait is over to the question in every Christina and Cher fans' minds -Burlesque is no Glitter or Showgirls as first rumored in the press.
Christina Aguilera fans will be rooting for her Ali, a wide-eyed, small-town aspiring singer who aggressively pursues a position in Cher's burlesque show in Hollywood. Christina's vocal and dancing talents are used to their full advantage in the movie's plot to audience's enjoyment.
Cher just seems to have fun with the been-there-done-that mentor role as Tess, the club owner. And Cher, er, Tess, gives two crowd-pleasing musical numbers as only Cher can do. The first, clad in a Bob Mackie ensemble and backed by the burlesque beauties, Cher puts her unique mark on "Welcome to Burlesque" and later in very random performance on her way out the door when asked to rehearse "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me."
Director/writer Steven Antin keeps the script simple and fairly plausible while pacing the plotline smoothly, interspersing the non-musical scenes within many of the musical numbers.
Each of the actors in the supporting ensemble have their moment to shine: Eric Dane as the rich mogul interested in Ali; Alan Cumming as the "Cabaret-esque" emcee; Peter Gallagher as Tess' stressed out ex. Kristen Bell and "Dancing With the Stars" Julianne Hough add as much fun onstage in the musical performances as they do offstage. Look for Kristen Bell's Nikki in a couple of not-to-be-forgotten bitch-fights!
Everyone should have a gay BBF like Sean, played by Stanley Tucci. He knows when to lie to make Tess feel good and when to tell the truth when things get tough.
Everyone should have a roommate like Jack played by the very handsome Cam Gigandet. Caring, sensitive, considerate, gorgeous-he would be a great partner for either sex! Look out for his Famous Amos cookie box scene!
But ultimately, "Burlesque" is all about the musical numbers, intricately choreographed by Denise Fay and Joey Pizzi, sensuously costumed by Michael Kaplan, and sharply edited by Virginia Katz.
You will leave the theatre humming at least one of the movie's hot, hot, hot numbers! You might even remember of the many great one-liners, like "And you're in my mirror because?" and "Would you like a cookie?"