Ho-hum film

Rating: 5/10 (17 June 2011)

"Burlesque" is not so much a bad film as an unnecessary film. The protagonist Ali (Christina Aguillera) walks into the "Burlesque" club one day and wants to work there as a dancer. She eventually becomes a dancer who apparently can also sing. Accompanying this plot line is a predictable love affair involving Ali and a love interest, Tess's (Cher) valiant efforts to raise enough money to pay off the mortgage so that the bank does not foreclose on the club (a plot recycled from dozens of other films), the jealous dancer who feels threatened by Ali (saw that before many times), and an evil developer who wants to tear down the club so that he can build a big sky scraper with nice views of the ocean. I suspect that if Ayn Rand was in charge of writing the screenplay, the developer would be the hero in this movie and Tess would be the evil collectivist. If you don't understand the joke, nevermind...
The problem with this film is there is nothing new, or entertaining, about the story line. Or, put another way, if I had to decide whether to make the screenplay for "Burlesque" into a movie, I would be asking myself, "What is the point of turning this script into a movie?" The other problem with "Burlesque" is the set. According to wikipedia, this movie apparent cost $55 million to make. Yet looking at the sets, I have no idea where the money went. The "Burlesque" club looks like a cheap strip club where the strippers keep all their clothes on. Yes, that's right folks! Not only are you made to feel cheap going to this "Burlesque" club, but you also do not see women getting naked for your pains -- which explains why this movie qualified for PG-13.
The only plus in this film are its occasionally interesting characters. Christina Aguillera's sluttish dancing is always appreciated and a welcome distraction from the film's boring plot. Sadly, though, Aguillera appears to lip sink so much of her singing, contrary to the screenplay's premise that she is the only dancer who sings her own songs. The Cher character can also be interesting, partly because Cher is an interesting person in real life. Stanley Tucci repeats his warm hearted performance as the nice homosexual from films, like "the Devil Wears Prada" and "Easy A," and he sort of pulls it off. There is nothing new in Stanley Tucci's performance, but he reminds you of an old friend that you do mind having a chance meeting with now and then. But overall there are better ways that you can spend your two hours than watching "Burlesque" -- perhaps by going to a strip club.