A cliché script dressed up in glitter and revealing outfits

Rating: 5/10 (28 November 2010)

** out of (****)
Going into Burlesque, one doesn't expect a contender for the Oscars. The mouth-watering fanboy at the box office expects to have a fulfilling time. After cinema's critical and financial flops about a girl moving into the big city hoping to get somewhere ("Showgirls", "Coyote Ugly", "Glitter"), can Burlesque break the mold? Unfortunately, not financially. With a poor one million dollar weekend opening on a mammoth of a budget (sixty million), Burlesque will go down as one of the year's biggest flops. And Burlesque isn't shaping up too well with critics (A 33% on Rotten Tomatoes, can you say ouch?). Well despite being a financial and critical flop, is there any sort of redemption with Burlesque? Well... sort of.
As for the script, yes, it's as formulaic and paint-by-numbers as the critics make it out to be. There's no twist or turn the director throws. There's no surprise. It plays out exactly how you think it would. While the script is pretty flat, I thought the performances were very underrated. Critics are bashing Aguilera's acting yet I think she did her job. I'm usually picky when it comes to acting, but Aguilera didn't do so bad. Cher is really the life of the party here. She is full of charisma and she puts on a show. Still, the duo aren't too bad together. The dialogue on the other hand is a little cringe-worthy. You'll get a handful of cheesy lines here and there.
For it being a big production musical, is the money well spent? Yes and I can say that with pride. The sets are certainly glamorous and you can tell every penny was used to perfection. Also, the visuals are pretty much eye-candy. The choreography is just as appealing as the set designs. Does the film deliver on its title? Unfortunately not. Burlesque lacks sex appeal to push the envelope like "Nine" did, but I suppose it didn't because they were going in a more family-friendly route. How's the direction? Pretty average. Steve Antin flies by Aguilera's past life and cuts to the chase. Apparently, he flies by a little too much and makes some situations seem pretty preposterous. Now most importantly, how are the songs? They are pretty fun, but you won't find any "Chicago" in these tracks.
All in all, "Burlesque" might not have lived to its fullest potential, but for what it turned out to be, it wasn't so bad. After all, you could do a lot worse. The acting and dialogue are certainly eye-roll worthy but the choreography, flashy set-designs, and the fun songs are really what the audience lines up to see. While I don't think the film's quality is high enough to warrant a full price, I do recommend it this time as seeing the film with a big crowd might boost up your rating. It sure did with mine. It's not "Chicago" but it's certainly no "Coyote Ugly". Aguilera and Cher pretty much go out of their way to entertain you for two hours. If that's what you're looking for, "Burlesque" is right up your alley.