Glamour and Tucci

Rating: 5/10 (8 December 2010)

"Burlesque" is a musical drama that relies on glamorous costumes (or lack there of) combined with pretty women to captivate audiences. The songs are kind of bland throughout and because the girls' job at the Burlesque Lounge is literally lip sink to all of the classic songs no one is able to shine. Cher's character Tess gets a couple shots and really owns one of them while Christina Aguilera's character Ali is given numerous opportunities to sing. However, with only one star the rest of the girls are left behind in the shadows. The basic plot of the film begins as Ali quits her job in a small town in Iowa and moves to Los Angeles to make her singing and dancing dream come true. She has a lot of trouble at first, but finally finds Tess's Burlesque Lounge. There she meets a bartender named Jack (Cam Gigandet), Tess's gay studio partner Sean (Stanley Tucci), a snotty dancer named Nikki (Kristen Bell) and a very wealthy man named Marcus (Eric Dane). Rejected by Tess initially to join the show, Ali begs Jack to let her be a waitress for the Lounge. The Lounge is in great financial trouble and is going to be bought by Marcus if something cannot be done. Eventually Ali gets her shot and as her career starts flourishing the big question is if Ali, Sean and Tess are going to be able to save the Burlesque Lounge from Marcus's plans? Also, who will Ali fall in love with Marcus or Jack?
The glamour of the film is undoubtedly the best part of the film and is very extensive and glamorous. The costumes exemplify exactly the kind of film that it is and are elaborate enough to brighten up the screen. The dancing and choreography is very good as well. And yes Christina Aguilera owns the screen when she is singing, dancing, and performing. Cher also very good, but she does not get as much screen time as she should. Kristen Bell is in familiar territory with her role that is almost a mirror image of her Sarah Marshall character. However, the standouts in the film are the three main males; Cam Gigandet, Eric Dane, and Stanley Tucci. They are able to shine through the estrogen filled screen with very good performances. Stanley Tucci is on top of his game year after year and this film is no different.
The flare of the film is gone when the characters are not on performing in the Lounge causing the film to rely on Christina Aguilera's acting ability with little snippets of Cher and the three males as stated above. Aguilera does a much better job than other singers turned actress, however, the film is too much about her and only her forcing her to act more than she should have. It isn't even her fault that the film tends to struggle outside of its musical center because unlike Musicals like Chicago, Moulin Rouge or even last year's Nine (that probably wasn't as good as Burlesque) the film does not carry over the magic of the musical genre when outside the Lounge. The film breaks entirely out of the musical genre away from the light and color spectacle and becomes just another drama without the magic and mystery of music.
A very entertaining film while in the Lounge, but the magic is lost once the actresses get off the stage and the performances of the film's males in a drama setting take over. This makes the film something that its not, but allows a man like Stanley Tucci a chance to show off a little bit. Therefore, "Burlesque" is not the must see musical of the season, however, it is the only musical and its more entertaining than last year's NINE. However, save some money wait for the dollar theaters or wait a little longer for DVD.