Review of Burlesque (2009) by Mayra N — 04 Apr 2015

A little different to what I was expecting which I think was a good thing as I'd expected some lavish production full of drag queens and bitchiness. On the contrary, it was pretty much a Christina concert, with a Cher warm up act, with a measure of dialogue for luck.

It certainly didn't take long to get going as we were in the club with pretty much the second scene of the movie with Xtina immediately getting herself noticed and wanting an audition. Some of the character relations were good but these kind of petered out once Ms Aguilera landed the lead role as every other scene was a production of hers in lavish costume and typically over the top vocals.

If you're a big fan of these acts then you'll love this movie, but other than one song that was reasonably catchy, the music was not that memorable. It's a typical chick flick but not even that as there's not enough off stage scenes for my liking.

There's plenty of pouting, posing, and performing up to the camera's and the cast have naturally been chosen for their looks more than their acting CV. There's a typically Channing Tatum like actor who seems to be removing his top and striking sultry looks at every opportunity, and the direction this movie was taking was pretty obvious as it settled in.

Not that I've seen it but I can imagine that Britney Spears' movie would be pretty similar to this in the sense that she'd be working with model guys, showcasing her vocal 'talents' and aiming the movie towards fans of their albums as opposed to the general public.

To be fair, the acting could have been a lot worse, and Cher is possibly a better actress than singer now anyway due to the fact she can hardly move her face - perhaps this makes her the perfect candidate to play a part in the Mannequin series of films?! Casting aside, this wasn't the best, as it lacked variation, comedy and more importantly; a decent soundtrack.