High octane, fast paced musical is super fun, even if it's not a masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (6 December 2010)

I, unlike a lot of people in lieu to it's box office results, really wanted to see Burlesque. I am not necessarily a Christina Aguilera fan, though she has made a lot of songs I like, same deal for Cher, and though the movie did not seem like it would be a 10/10, it looked insanely fun for my tastes and I had been invited by my friend and her mom to go see it with them. We were all fairly excited, after seeing the previews and hearing of what reception it did get from audiences was generally well perceived, and, directly after it was over, were pleased to admit that all three of us really enjoyed it and were not disappointed.
There is not really many downsides to this movie, in my honest opinion, that can not be made up for with other material. For example: The songs, while not all are memorable, make the movie ultimately more enjoyable, and have some nice choreography to the dances that were made for them. "Show Me How to Burlesque" is my favorite song, with Cher's "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" and another song, that incongruently and infuriatingly is not listed in the soundtrack titles on here, and did not have a really huge part in the movie other than it being my favorite dance sequence, besides "Show Me How to Burlesque", being two other very catchy songs in the movie, as well. The others felt like they were there merely to fill time, because I personally did not find them that special.
There's not really any brand new, awesome material, but it really is much better than people would expect in terms of entertainment and professionalism. Christina Aguilera has got some pipes. Whether you like her vocals or not, she can hit and hold a note, and she really is not that bad of an actress. She wasn't in this film, at least, and while we are at it, neither was Cher; both gave pretty believable and likable performances. Everyone gave a likable performance both acting and music wise, especially my man candy Cam Gigandet. You could grate cheese on that boy's body. There is a nice touch of comedy here and there from Alan Cumming, Stanley Tucci, and a very cute and well done scene between Aguilera and Gigandet that involves a nice shot of Gigandet's bottom and another mishap in that scene that will make anyone crave "the box of cookies" at that exact moment. (I love Cam Gigandet.)
Moving on, another aspect is the movie has got excellent, sparkly costumes during some flashy, risqué sequences that could possibly make anyone have a seizure who was not thoroughly prepared. Another of my favorite things is it has got beautiful, and I mean beautiful lighting, and wonderful make-up in many scenes making the actors, actresses and settings look picturesque and crisp. Steve Antin, while not an amazing director, does a very nice job, and does an even better job with the writing, even if the script is not Oscar worthy. Like I have said, it is not going to be held in cinema history as the next Casablanca, or Godfather, few movies are nowadays, but this was an enjoyable experience for many reasons and I encourage anyone who thinks they can handle it for what it is to see it.