Review of Burlesque (2010) by Michael Y — 31 Jul 2011

Burlesque is a playful, musical fantasy that doesn't quite live up to be enjoyably playful or a very good fantasy.

Burlesque is a musical with 2 famous singers as it's stars. Christina Aguilera plays Ali, a small town girl who escapes to Los Angeles to become a star, but she is lead to a burlesque lounge where her talent will sure to be recognized, despite the negativity from the manager, Tess, played by Cher. As a movie to watch half naked women dance around, then this one is good enough. But unfortunately Burlesque also includes a fantasy story that's not thought provoking, staring actors that no one likes. (well maybe there's a couple) and with dialogue that's melodramatic and unoriginal. A fun fantasy movie could be good, but this movie sways from wanting to be an unrealistic fantasy and a realistic drama, which it fails at both. And it could have been better if this movie had actors you like. Sure it has Stanley Tucci and Alan Cumming, but Cher's face is just.... too distracting. And Aguilera is not a convincing girl on the screen.

I guess the highlight of the movie is the way it looks. It's a movie about burlesque shows, so you're sure to expect flashing lights, attractive costumes, beautiful looking sets and crazy and fantastic cinematography. And it's not like the directing for the rest of the scenes were bad. Burlesque is a world of fantasy, so this movie looks like a fantasy, a dream, and in every way possible. And I like how the movie mixes the fantasy singing with the characters actually singing. In all honesty, it is kind of a little cheap that this movie only has a few original songs and the rest is just a Glee episode. (though I do love Glee) But my problem with the directing and editing of the movie is that its pacing is off and you never seem to get into the dramatic side of the movie when it wants you to.

Burlesque is the kind of movie that doesn't aim high as far as a compelling story, which is why it's so hard to like it. Because it aims to be more fun than actually intelligent, we loose sight of seeing anything beyond the dancing and lights. And because of the leading cast, you can't even just like the movie for being fun either.