In advance of Thanksgiving weekend, the highly anticipated film, Burlesque, opened in cinemas throughout North America on Wednesday November 24, 2010.
Plot Summary of Burlesque
Hardworking waitress Alice “Ali” Rose has talent and gumption, and with no relatives living, she decides to leave her small-town Iowa hometown. Taking the money she has saved, she travels to Los Angeles, where she hopes to pursue a career as a dancer and singer. Having been unable to gain a job, she stumbles across the bright lights of a burlesque club.
She somehow finds herself enchanted by the world and performances that dazzle within the club, and she begs for a job from the tough lady-owner, Tess. Ali begins working at the club as a waitress, but she eventually gains the chance to become one of the performers.
With the club facing financial problems, Tess decides that Ali’s guttural, strong, and unusual singing voice may be the salvation needed for the club.
However, as Ali’s vocal vibrancy succeeds in attracting a larger audience, a big time business man, Marcus Gerber, still attempts to buy the club, and he also begins to attempt to romance Ali, much to the disappointment of the club’s bartender/songwriter, Jack.
Cast and Characters of Burlesque
Superstar singers, Cher and Christine Aguilera, respectively play the leading roles of Tess and Ali.
Stanley Tucci plays Tess’ stage manager and most trusted friend, Sean, and Peter Gallagher plays Vince, the ex-husband and business partner of Tess.
Cam Gigandet plays Jack, the goodhearted club bartender, who befriends Ali and who has ambitions to become a songwriter, and Eric Dane plays Marcus, the powerful businessman who is a business threat for Tess and a romantic rival to Jack.
Kristen Bell portrays a troubled and bad-tempered club performer, who resents the arrival of the talented Ali, and Alan Cumming plays a noticeable cameo role as another worker in the club, Alexis.
Reviewing Burlesque
The movie may seem as if it is going to be a combination of the already existing musicals, Chicago, Cabaret, Gentleman Prefer Blondes, and Gypsy, but Burlesque achieves dancing on the strength of its own shoes.
Burlesque also achieves presenting the seedy yet alluring atmosphere that the movie version of Chicago dismally failed to convey, and it also successfully portrays a warmer and lighter mood of its own.
While Chicago attempted to be artistic and impressive, Burlesque fulfills being both with seeming ease. Yet, if the film is analyzed, it is apart that much admirable hard-work and detail planning has contributed to making Burlesque such a well executed movie.
The movie, which was written and directed by Steven Antin, gives every piece of information very artfully. It is filmed to be visually expressive, and the well-scripted characters are enhanced by the solid performances of the cast.
From the opening moments of the movie, Burlesque is absorbing and exhilarating to watch, and the skill with which it has been produced quickly offers the audience the refreshingly rarely given opportunity to sit back and relax. There is no need for the audience to exert themselves by having to struggle to follow the journey of the story or characters, and one does not feel the pressure of searching for something justifies having spent countable dollars on a movie ticket.
The singing performances of Cher and Christina Aguilera are expectedly impressive, and the direction of their numbers adds to the effectiveness of their performances.
The only significant criticism that can be made of the overall movie is that nearing the end, some storyline resolutions may seem slightly rushed, but Burlesque is still a well constructed movie. It holds together, with largely well-interwoven aspects, and it makes for a much better than average cinema experience.
While the nature and genre of Burlesque may understandably not appeal to everyone, as the advertisements indicate, this is an excellent and entertaining movie that can be enjoyed by many.
Elizabeth Fredericks - Elizabeth Fredericks is a graduate of Oxford University, and she has worked as a freelance writer since her first paid assignment as a ...
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