<\/strong><\/p>\n Directed By: Steve Antin<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Starring: Christina Aguilera, Cher, Cam Gigandet, Kristen Bell, Julianne Hough, Eric Dane, Alan Cumming, Peter Gallagher, Stanley Tucci, Dianna Agron<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n It’s great to put your assets to good use, but if you want your film to offer an entire package, other elements need to be considered. In the case of Burlesque<\/em>, writer-director Steve Antin has Christina Aguilera on the brain and nothing more. Clearly this tunnel vision works well when it come to vocals, but just about every other component is practically ignored. As good as her voice is, if you don’t have the proper camerawork to capture the action, adequate editing to make the visuals comprehensible or a well-developed story to engage viewers, you might as well have just made a CD, not a feature film.<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Burlesque<\/em> stars Aguilera as Ali, a small-town waitress who\u2019s fed up with her minimal existence and craves the spotlight. She follows her dreams straight to Los Angeles, but quickly learns that a city change doesn\u2019t mean instant success. After a number of failed auditions, Ali comes across The Burlesque, a nightclub with \u201cThe best views on the Sunset Strip.\u201d The place is owned and run by Tess (Cher) with the help of her ex-husband Vince (Peter Gallagher) and loyal assistant Sean (Stanley Tucci). A barrage of girls hit the stage each night to wow the crowd with dance and lip-synching routines. Unfortunately, even there, a job doesn\u2019t come easy. After being rejected by Tess, Ali takes it upon herself to go to work for the bartender, Jack (Cam Gigandet).<\/p>\n \n Their relationship goes from business to personal when her apartment is ransacked and she\u2019s forced to bunk down at his place. The only thing stifling this budding romance is Jack\u2019s fianc\u00e9e who happens to be out of town for a few months. As things heat up at home, they heat up at work, too. Ali finally gets her chance to audition to dance on stage and makes the cut. When a music malfunction mutes the vocals, Ali takes it upon herself to sing the tune and blows away not only the audience, but Tess as well.<\/p>\n \n The only thing the slightest bit fresh about Burlesque <\/em>is well, Burlesque. The club makes for a fantastic setting and the style of entertainment is absolutely mesmerizing, but Antin completely dilutes the concept with every \u201csmall town gal moving to the big city\u201d clich\u00e9 imaginable. Not only is Ali a na\u00efve girl from Iowa, she\u2019s a struggling waitress who\u2019s seemingly all alone in this big world and happens to harbor an immense amount of talent that, of course, is discovered and finally appreciated. Can you say Coyote Ugly<\/em>? In fact, the scene during which Ali returns home to find her apartment in ruins and secret stash of cash missing is eerily similar to poor Violet Sandford\u2019s situation in that 2000 film. Keeping with the Coyote Ugly<\/em> connection, <\/em>Tess is basically the bar owner Lil, but with a much deeper voice and a plastic face. And we can\u2019t forget our quintessential bitch determined to make the newcomer\u2019s assimilation as difficult as possible. In Coyote Ugly<\/em> it was Rachel and in Burlesque<\/em> we get Kristen Bell as Nikki.<\/p>\n \n It\u2019s one thing to reuse an overused concept, but at least make some sort of attempt to spice it up a bit. The only effort Antin seems to have made was setting his film in the club. Sadly, there\u2019s just so long the visuals are able to hold your attention. The story is painfully predictable and not engaging in the least and that latter point is largely due to the miscast lead.<\/p>\n \n Yes, Aguilera is a great musical performer, but she can\u2019t act. Sitting through Burlesque<\/em> is kind of like having whiplash every ten minutes. Just when the story is about to put you to sleep, she belts out an outrageous tune accompanied by a mesmerizing dance routine. There are two slower ballads at the end of the film that flop due to their connection to the story, but otherwise, every song is quite enjoyable. However, what keeps these moments merely enjoyable and not wildly entertaining is poor camerawork. You\u2019d think Antin\u2019s experience directing music videos would have made this portion of the project easy, but it\u2019s the musical moments that are the most awkwardly shot and edited parts of the film. In fact, some tunes are so poorly covered, it\u2019s distracting.<\/p>\n \n
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