Let the holiday movies begin. Well, of course, it started with Harry Potter, but here comes the musical. Sometimes, these can be hit or miss during the holidays. But after listening to friends squabble why we shouldn't see this one because of critics reviews, I took the plunge and went. And...I'm glad I did.
From the get go it doesn't take long for Christine Aguilera to hit the stage, even if its the one in her mind, as the small town girl from Iowa. She's been saving up and she's going to L.A. or bust.
STORYLINE: The Burlesque Lounge has its best days behind it. Tess(Cher), a retired dancer and owner of the venue, struggles to keep the aging theater alive, facing all kinds of financial and artistic challenges. With the Lounge's troupe members becoming increasingly distracted by personal problems and a threat coming from a (Eric Dane) wealthy businessman's quest to buy the spot from Tess, the good fortune seems to have abandoned the club altogether. Meanwhile, the life of Ali (Christine Aguilera) , a small-town girl, is about to change dramatically. Hired by Tess as a waitress at the Lounge, Ali escapes a hollow past and quickly falls in love with the art of burlesque. Backed by newfound friends amongst the theater's crew, she manages to fulfill her dreams of being on stage herself. Things take a dramatic turn though when Ali's big voice makes her become the main attraction of the revue.
Julianne Hough and Kristen Bell strut their stuff as dancers at Burlesques. They lip sink. Julianne's Georgia gets bumped with a baby bump while Bell's Nikki is the dysfunctional drunk who can't stand the new girl Ali. Oh, you got it. A cat fight could break out at any moment.
But Ali has her allies and soon becomes the greatest when she sings for real. Thankfully, Jack (Twilight's Cam Gigandet..formerly of the O.C.) the bartender, who looks like he could be off the set of Clockwork Orange..comes to the rescue when Ali's hotel room gets robbed. But he's got a love in New York City, Natalie (GLEE'S Dianna Agron). Unfortunately, Dianna does not get to sing.
The music is upbeat and fun. Totally perfected for the stage. Very sexy burlesque and yet quite modern, too. The movie really keeps moving. You hardly know how long you've actually been there. Cher is elegant and her voice is beautiful. If you love either Cher or Christina you'll really want to go to this one. I honestly thought Aguilera was genuine, beautiful and delivered every note in this fantastic musical.
10/10
I think Cam would be worth going to see! I do like the music from the film.
ReplyDeleteI had my doubts that this would be my kind of movie, but if it's a 10/10 I think I'll have to check it out sometime!
ReplyDeleteOh, I loved it! An amazing soundtrack!
ReplyDeleteAfter, I wrote this..I got to thinking..was I wrong about this movie. So I went to the boards on IMDB and saw how many people enjoyed this musical as much as I did. I hear that the soundtrack is on top at iTunes. I think you can definitely enjoy the performances and the music.
ReplyDeleteI had a chance to see this but my friend dragged me to Megamind instead :-p
ReplyDeleteI'm still sorta hesitant to see this though.
Cher annoys me.
There's just something about her.....