Movie review in the Wednesday, Nov. 24 Oregonian....
Christina Aguilera has magnificent pipes, and if you like hyper-produced, brass-heavy show-pop that winks at the cabaret tradition, you'll probably dig the "Burlesque" soundtrack. Every song is engineered to be a blockbuster, and occasionally Xtina tags out so Cher can step in the ring and warble a power-ballad.
Unfortunately, the movie they built around that soundtrack is a clichéd drag that wastes talented actors.
Aguilera blandly plays an Iowa gal who flees to Hollywood in the movie's first two minutes with vague singer/dancer ambitions. She works her way onstage at a failing L.A. burlesque club and into the hearts of characters better-written in a million other films -- the brassy owner (a bemused-looking Cher), the smart-aleck stage manager (Stanley Tucci), the jealous star (Kristen Bell), the predatory rich guy (Eric Dane), the cute bartender (Cam Gigandet).
The songs are fine, but sound less and less like venue-appropriate showtunes as they go along (and everyone looks like they're lip-syncing to perfectly produced vocal tracks even when we're told they aren't). The drama is telegraphed and glossy and un-fascinating; the edges have been belt-sanded until any camp value is lost. And it's filmed in that "Moulin Rouge"/"Chicago" style where you see half a dance move before the shot cuts -- which somehow makes a lot of difficult, sexy work seem simultaneously frenetic and boring.
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(116 min., rated PG-13) Grade: C
'Burlesque' (Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010)
I think that if you like musicals you are going to enjoy this one. I mean, yes, it's predictable (the "cute bartender" - good one) and such, but it was good escapism and was overall entertaining. :)
Posted by: Watch Burlesque Online | December 16, 2010 at 05:25 AM