OK, let's all take a deep breath, and frigging relax, shall we?

Rating: 8/10 (24 February 2011)

So it's painfully clichéd; so it's achingly unoriginal; so it steals heavily from other movies; so it lacks any real depth... So what?
Don't tell me you've never seen and possibly even enjoyed a perfectly flat and shallow pop-corn action movie just for the sake of it. Why should shallowness be an exclusive right of action flicks?
"Burlesque" is a perfectly enjoyable musical comedy that - unlike many other recent blockbusters - does not take itself too seriously, and in all fairness it's as unpretentious as it gets. True, it's basically a glossy and simplified remake of "Coyote Ugly" with some "Chicago" elements thrown in for kicks. But so what? Who ever said that a certain kind of plot can only be told once (again, cf. action movies). It's just as honest about only being meant to entertain as, say, "The Hangover", "Red" or even "Mamma Mia!". Not that one should compare it to any other film of the same genre, but the fact is that some films are simply not meant to be anything else but pure entertainment. And that's okay.
On the other hand, the humour is refreshingly effective, and compared to "Coyote" this flick may actually be much more romantic, appealing and gripping.
Yes, the carbon-copy elements we may have seen a thousand times might make our eyes roll like a merry-go-round (I for one could not believe they went as far as including even the robbed apartment twist from "Coyote Ugly" or - and that was priceless - the day-dream cut to Ali imagining herself on stage that looks exactly like the scene when Roxie first sees Velma performing in "Chicago"). But these things happen all the time. It's not even relevant. People are taking "Burlesque" far too seriously, and certainly much more seriously than it actually takes itself.