Burlesque - (November 24th, 2010): PG-13
Distributor: Screen Gems (subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Opening Weekend Box-Office: #4 with $11,947,744
Domestic Box-Office Gross to-date: $28,221,258
Gross Revenue: $28,221,258
Budget: $55 million
Director: Steven Antin
When I first saw the trailer for Burlesque, I admit that I was cautiously optimistic; musical films have been growing in both popularity and quality over the years, but there were still some elements working against the potential of this newest entry. Cher is an Academy Award-winning actress and Grammy Award-winning performer, but she hadn’t been on the silver screen since 2003’s forgettable Stuck on You, so this prolonged absence from the spotlight meant that her appeal was likely going to be limited to older audiences and dedicated fans. As for Christina Aguilera, I’ve always considered her one of the best singers in the music industry, but the fact that this was her first film brought up echoes of other pop stars who had ventured into acting in the past with disastrous results…seriously, I’m sure we’d all like to forget (and most indeed have forgotten) Britney Spears in Crossroads and Mariah Carey in Glitter. Still, early trailers promised movie-goers strong musical performances, and Screen Gems clearly focused its marketing efforts towards an appropriate target audience. Leading up to the film’s release, Aguilera was performing music from the soundtrack on everything from The Ellen DeGeneres Show to the American Music Awards and the finale of Dancing with the Stars. At the very least, the film’s tag-line of “It takes a Legend to make a Star,” highlighted the main draw of Burlesque for music fans: industry icons Cher and Christina Aguilera would be interacting and performing music together for the first time. Though I’m clearly not in the target audience, as a fan of both performers, I decided to give Burlesque a chance.
Burlesque tells the story of small-town waitress Ali Rose (Aguilera), who decides to follow her dreams of performing as a dancer in Los Angeles. Though initially unsuccessful in her pursuits, Ali stumbles across The Burlesque Lounge, a popular musical performing theater and club run by proprietor Tess (Cher) and sassy stage manager Sean (Stanley Tucci, best known for The Devil Wears Prada). Though she is initially dismissed, Ali eventually earns a place in the production, striking a friendship with club bartender and musician Jack (Cam Gigandet, of Twilight fame) and building a rivalry with troubled performer Nikki (Kristen Bell, from Forgetting Sarah Marshall). Ali quickly realizes that all the dancers lip-sync their performances, but once Tess discovers her powerful singing voice, the former waitress becomes a headlining sensation. Unfortunately, the newfound success and increased popularity of the club are not enough to remedy its long-standing financial troubles, and Tess fears she may soon be forced to sell her legacy to entrepreneur Marcus Gerber (Eric Dane from Grey’s Anatomy). Ali and Tess must work together in order to help save the establishment that they both cherish.
Well, it should come as no surprise that the strongest part of Burlesque was the music, as both Cher and Christina showcase their immense talent with powerful songs and energetic performances. Christina’s trademark vocal power comes through on every performance, and Cher delivers one song that will likely earn a nomination at this year’s Academy Awards. From an acting perspective, I really enjoyed the attitude that Christina brought to her character, which helped prove that she can hold her own as an actress; but the real strength of Burlesque has to do with the interaction between Cher and Christina, which has a unique energy to it, in effect helping audiences to look past the characters and just appreciate the significance of these two icons being on-screen together. I also feel that I should mention that Burlesque definitely makes efforts to appeal beyond the female demographic; guys usually roll their eyes at the thought of going to a musical film, but they should remember that, by definition, burlesque performances are supposed to be suggestive and sexy, and this film offers more than just music to keep male moviegoers happy. In the end, Burlesque delivered to audiences exactly what it promised, and fans of both Cher and Christina will delight in this newest musical film.
Unfortunately, although I enjoyed the music of Burlesque, the reality is that the film focuses so strongly on the music that the end result is little more than an extended music video promoting Christina Aguilera. The first few performances showcase the different burlesque dancers and their unique style of performance (which was highly enjoyable), but by the time Christina takes center stage, the other dancers are completely ignored, and it feels like we are simply watching one of Aguilera’s concerts. I was also supremely disappointed that Cher only performed two songs the entire film, a clear underuse of her talent. Aside from the focus of the music, another blatant weak point in Burlesque has to do with the story, which is so formulaic and predictable that it is hard for the audience to get invested at all. A small town singer making it big, struggling with newfound fame, and building a relationship with a fellow artist is nothing new, but even some of the attempted unique elements fell flat. Burlesque tries to paint Eric Dane’s character as sinister because he tries to buy the struggling club, but he just doesn’t come across as a villain, and Tess and Ali’s final solution to save the club is so obvious and uncreative that I doubt anyone cared that they actually solved the film’s central conflict. The presence of actors Alan Cummings and Peter Gallagher also felt wasted; Burlesque had the necessary acting talent to be a much better film, it just didn’t capitalize on its potential.
Even though Burlesque had the benefit of opening during the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend, it still faced significant competition from three other new releases and Harry Potter’s second weekend at the box-office. With romantic comedies, action adventures, epic fantasies, and children’s animations all vying for audience attention, Burlesque was still able to pull in nearly $12 million as a musical film, which is very respectable. Unfortunately, Burlesque represents Screen Gems’ second most expensive film behind the Resident Evil franchise, and with audience numbers dropping, it is likely that the studio will lose money on this newest release. Though I probably enjoyed Burlesque more than I should have, the fact remains that there are some pretty big weaknesses in this film, which cannot be ignored when you consider the high quality of some of the other more recent entries in the musical genre. Despite my criticisms, if all you’re looking for is some good music from Cher and Christina Aguilera, then I’m sure you will enjoy Burlesque.
Overall Recommendation: Medium
